University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


LONG'S    PEAK,     FROM     TOP     OF     MOUNT     MEEKER 


THE 

MAKING   OF  COLORADO 

A    HISTORICAL   SKETCH 


BY 

EUGENE     PARSONS 

AUTHOR  OP  "  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  ;   A   CHARACTER  SKETCH,' 
"  TENNYSON'S  LIFE  AND   POETRY,"    ETC. 


A.    FLANAGAN    COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT   1908 

BY 
A.  FLANAGAN  COMPANY 


PREFACE 

COLORADO  has  had  a  stirring  history — one  verging 
upon  the  romantic.  When  it  was  known  as  a  part 
of  the  Louisiana  Territory,  it  was  first  explored 
by  Captain  Pike;  then  by  Major  Long,  Colonel 
Fremont,  and  Captain  Gunnison.  The  first  per- 
manent settlement  by  white  Americans  was  made 
on  the  banks  of  Cherry  Creek  in  1858.  Soon 
after  the  rush  to  Pike's  Peak  a  territorial  govern- 
ment was  organized,  and  fifteen  years  later  Colo- 
rado was  admitted  to  the  sisterhood  of  American 
commonwealths  as  the  Centennial  State. 

In  the  half-century  of  its  eventful  history  Colo- 
rado has  forged  to  the  front  in  the  annals  of  the 
nation.  No  other  western  state,  save  California, 
has  been  so  prominent  in  the  public  eye.  The 
fame  of  its  mountains  and  its  mines  is  world-wide. 

In  1857  there  were  a  few  score  of  trappers  in  the 
Rockies  and  ranchers  on  the  plains;  in  1907  the 
state  had  a  population  of  700,000.  Some  of  the 
features  of  its  history  the  author  has  endeavored 
to  present  comprehensively  and  concisely.  He 
can  honestly  say  that  he  has  loved  the  truth  and 

5 


0  PREFACE 

sought  it  diligently  in  the  journals  of  the  old  ex- 
plorers and  in  the  records  of  more  recent  times. 
His  wish  is  that  this  little  volume  may  help  the  boys 
and  girls  of  Colorado  to  become  more  familiar  with 
its  picturesque  past,  also  to  realize  something  of 
the  progress  made  along  industrial  lines  in  this 
imperial  state. 

Colorado  has  been  called  the  Switzerland  of 
America.  It  is  the  Mecca  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  sightseers  every  summer.  In  preparing 
the  later  chapters  of  this  book  the  writer  has  tried 
to  supply  information  for  this  class.  For  the 
average  reader  the  work  may  serve  as  an  intro- 
duction to  the  elaborate  histories  written  by  Hall 
and  Smiley. 

It  has  been  the  author's  good  fortune  to  talk 
with  some  of  the  makers  of  Colorado's  history. 
From  the  reminiscences  of  the  old  pioneers  he  has 
gleaned  many  interesting  details  and  vivid  pictures 
of  life  in  Colorado  Territory.  He  cannot  mention 
by  name  all  the  individuals  to  whom  he  is  under 
obligation.  For  suggestions  and  courtesies  he 
expresses  his  thanks  especially  to  Mr.  William  C. 
Ferril  of  the  State  Historical  Society;  Mr.  Charles 
R.  Dudley  of  the  Denver  Public  Library;  Professor 
George  L.  Cannon  of  the  East  Denver  High  School ; 
Mr.  John  T.  Burns,  former  Secretary  of  the  Colo- 
rado State  Commercial  Association;  Mr.  Charles 


PREFACE  7 

J.  Downey  of  the  Daily  Mining  Record;  to  Mr. 
Gaines  M.  Allen,  and  to  Mr.  Oliver  P.  Wiggins- 
all  of  Denver. 

Major  S.  K.  Hooper  and  Mr.  T.  E.  Fisher 
kindly  furnished  views  of  striking  scenes  along  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  and  the  Colo- 
rado and  Southern. 

DENVER,  1908. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

AND 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

INTRODUCTORY 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE 17 

Authorities: — H.  GANNETT,  A  Gazetteer  of  Colorado; 
GEN.  FRANK  HALL,  History  of  the  State  of  Colo- 
rado; H.  H.  BANCROFT,  History  of  Colorado;  G.  L. 
CANNON,  Geology  of  Denver  and  Vicinity. 

II  EARLY    INHABITANTS — CLIFF    DWELLERS     AND 

INDIANS      32 

Authorities:— S.  D.  PEET,  The  Cliff  Dwellers  and 
Pueblos;  F.  H.  CHAPIN,  Land  of  the  Cliff  Dwell- 
ers; W.  H.  JACKSON,  Reports  in  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  1874  and  1878;  R.  I.  DODGE,  Our  Wild 
Indians. 

PERIOD  OF  EXPLORATION 

III  PIKE       48 

IV  LONG      68 

V  FREMONT 88 

VI  GUNNISON      117 

9 


10  CONTEXTS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

TERRITORIAL    PERIOD 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VII  THE  RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK 127 

Authorities:— IE,.  INGERSOLL,  Knocking  Round  the 
Rockies;  A.  D.  RICHARDSON,  Beyond  the  Mississippi; 
W.  N.  BYERS,  History  of  Colorado. 

VIII  DENVER 130 

Authorities: — J.  C.  SMILEY,  History  of  Denver;  Rocky 
Mountain  News,  1859  and  I860;  F.  L.  PAXSON  in 
American  Historical  Review,  October,  1906. 

IX  COLORADO  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR 157 

Authorities:—  W.  C.  WHITFORD,  Colorado  Volunteers 
in  the  Civil  War;  II.  H.  BANCROFT,  History  of  New 
Mexico;  A.  A.  HAYES,  in  Magazine  of  American 
History,  February,  1886;  J.  D.  HOWLAND,  in 
Rocky  Mountain  News,  January  27,  1901. 

X  THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT 172 

Authorities: — Reports  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  1861-65;  Report  of  the  Military  Commis- 
sion on  the  Sand  Creek  Massacre,  Senate  Docs., 
2d  Sess.  39th  Cong.,  1866-7;  Congressional  Globe, 
January  13,  1865. 

XI  THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND 198 

Authorities: — GEN.  FRANK  HALL,  History  of  Colo- 
rado; GEN.  R.  I.  DODGE,  Plains  of  the  Great  West; 
GEN.  G.  A.  CUSTER,  Wild  Life  on  the  Plains;  GEN. 
G.  A,  FORSYTH,  Story  of  the  Soldier;  GEN.  P.  II. 
SHERIDAN.  Personal  Memoirs 


CONTENTS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY  11 


CHAPTER 

XII  TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES     ..........   223 

Authorities:  —  DAWSON  AND  SKIFF,  The  Ute  War; 
J.  P.  DUNN,  Massacres  of  the  Mountains;  W.  B. 
VICKEKS,  History  of  Colorado;  G.  B.  GKINNELL. 
Indians  of  To-day;  Ute  Affairs,  Senate  Docs.,  2d 
Sess.  46th  Cong.,  Vol.  I.,  1879-80. 

XIII  THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO      ..........   240 

Authorities:  —  ().  J.  HOLLISTER,  Mines  of  Colorado; 
A.  LAKES,  Geology  of  Western  Ore  Deposits;  Min- 
eral Industry,  1891-1906;  Reports  of  the  Colorado 
Commissioner  of  Mines;  Mines  and  Quarries  of 
the  United  States,  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  1902. 

XIV  THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO   .    .    .......  259 

XV  IRRIGATION  IN  COLORADO   ...........  272 

XVI  AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO      .........  283 

XVII  CONSTITUTION  AND  CAPITOL  ..........  300 

XVIII  STATE  AND  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  ........  307 

XIX  EDUCATION  IN  COLORADO   ...........  314 

APPENDIX 
GOVERNORS  OF  COLORADO   .............       323 

NOTABLE  COLORADO  DATES  .   324 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

LONG'S  PEAK  FROM  TOP  OF  MOUNT  MEEKER      2 

MOUNT  OF  THE  HOLY  CROSS 19 

WOODLAND  IN  ESTES  PARK 22 

ENTRANCE  TO  THE  GARDEN  OF  THE  GODS 26 

CLIFF  PALACE  IN  THE  MESA  VERDE 34 

A  UTE  BRAVE 36 

LIEUTENANT  PIKE 49 

BIGHORN  RAM 57 

ROYAL  GORGE,  GRAND  CANON  OF  THE  ARKANSAS  ....  63 

A  BUFFALO  OF  THE  PLAINS 73 

TIMBER  LINE,  PIKE'S  PEAK 82 

PIKE'S  PEAK,  SEEN  FROM  COLORADO  SPRINGS 102 

KIT  CARSON 115 

LA¥ETAPASS 118 

BLACK  CANON  OF  THE  GUNNISON  RIVER 123 

THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER  OF  A  PIONEER 132 

JAMES  W.  DENVER 138 

TRINITY  METHODIST  CHURCH,  DENVER 141 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  HOSPITAL,  DENVER 143 

OLIVER  PREBLE  WIGGINS  ("Old  Scout"  Wiggins)   ....  147 

BROWN  PALACE  HOTEL,  DENVER 150 

AUDITORIUM.  DENVER 152 

OFFICE  OF  THE  DAILY  MINING  RECORD 154 

WILLIAM  GILPIN,  FIRST  GOVERNOR  OF  COLORADO  TER- 
RITORY    158 

AN  ATTACK  ON  A  MAIL  COACH      174 

13 


14  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

COL.  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH 207 

CURLEY,  GENERAL  OUSTER'S  SCOUT .   220 

CHIEF  RED  CLOUD 221 

OURAY,  CHIEF  OF  THE  UTES 224 

JIM  BAKER      225 

JIM  BAKER'S  FORTLIKE  HOME       226 

THE  GREAT  MINING-DISTRICTS  OFCENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN 

COLORADO  (Map) 242 

DOWN  IN  A  GOLD  MINE 246 

CRIPPLE  CREEK .  252 

UNITED  STATES  MINT  AT  DENVER 255 

PANNING  GOLD 257 

GEORGETOWN,  FROM  LEAVENWORTH  PEAK 262 

UTE  PASS  PALISADES,  NEAR  MANITOU 266 

CROSSING  THE  CONTINENTAL  DIVIDE  IN  COLORADO     „    .    .   270 
IRRIGATING  GRAIN,  NEAR  GREELEY    ..........   276 

BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY  AT  LONGMONT 290 

A  BEET  FIELD  NEAR  FORT  COLLINS 295 

THE  STATE  CAPITOL  AT  DENVER 301 

THE  COLUMBINE,  COLORADO'S  STATE  FLOWER *.  304 

MAIN  BUILDING  OF  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY,  BOULDER  .    .  308 
GUGGENHEIM  HALL,  COLORADO  SCHOOL  OF  MIXES  .    .    .    .  309 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  GREF.LEY 310 

McCLELLAND  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  PUEBLO  .    '. 312 

OFFICE  OF  THE  DENVER  POST .315 

THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.  BUILDING,  DENVER .    .    .  317 

A  COLORADO  PANTHER  .  .  320 


INTRODUCTORY 

0  COLORADO,  land  of  gold, 
Thy  everlasting  mountains  hold 
Their  heads  aloft  with  crown  of  snow, 
As  Fremont  saw  them  long  ago. 

Through  vistas  of  the  far-off  years 

1  see  the  trains  of  pioneers. 

Their  schooners  headed  for  Pike's  Peak; 
The  shining  grains  of  gold  they  seek. 

The  decades  pass;  fair  cities  rise 
Where  tepees'  smoke  curled  to  the  skies. 
Iron  horses  quiver  o'er  the  rails 
Where  bison  thundered  down  their  trails. 

Thy  beetling  crags  and  canons  grand, 
By  ozone-laden  breezes  fanned; 
The  metals  hidden  in  the  rocks; 
The  valleys  ranged  by  herds  and  flocks; 

The  sunshine  bathing  hill  and  plain, 
Made  fruitful  by  the  snow  and  rain — 
These  make  thy  name  known  far  abroad, 
O  Colorado,  blessed  by  God! 


15 


The  Making  of  Colorado 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE 

COLORADO  is  the  central  state  of  the  West  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  In  shape  it  is  nearly  a  parallelo- 
gram. Its  breadth  is  two  hundred  seventy-six 
miles,  and  the  length  from  east  to  west  of  its  south- 
ern boundary  is  three  hundred  eighty-seven  miles. 
It  is  one  of  the  larger  commonwealths  of  the  Union. 
Only  four  other  states — Texas,  California,  Mon- 
tana, and  Nevada — exceed  it  in  size.  Its  area  is 
greater  than  that  of  all  New  England  with  Virginia 
thrown  in,  and  equal  to  that  of  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey,  and  Delaware  combined. 
The  state  is  nearly  twice  as  large  as  Illinois.  One 
of  its  counties,  Las  Animas,  is  almost  as  large  as 
Connecticut,  and  the  area  of  Routt  County  nearly 
equals  that  of  New  Jersey. 

Colorado  has  three  natural  divisions — plains, 
mountains,  and  plateaus. 

The  surface  of  the  state  is  very  uneven.  In  the 
eastern  part  near  the  Kansas  line  the  altitude  is 

17 


18  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

from  three  thousand  to  four  thousand  feet  above 
sea  level.  In  the  mountain  ranges  are  many 
peaks  over  fourteen  thousand  feet,  or  nearly  three 
miles,  high.  Colorado  has  the  highest  average 
elevation  of  all  the  states — six  thousand  eight 
hundred  feet. 

The  eastern  third  of  the  state  is  composed  of 
rolling  steppes  and  plains.  The  absence  of  timber 
is  noticeable,  except  along  the  rivers,  which  are 
lined  with  cotton  woods  and  willows.  There  are 
scattering  clumps  of  pines  on  the  high  knolls  of  the 
Divide,  the  watershed  between  the  Arkansas  and 
Platte  rivers.  The  Divide  is  the  highest  ridge  on 
the  great  plains  extending  from  Canada  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Its  elevation  at  Palmer  Lake 
and  other  places  is  over  seven  thousand  feet. 
From  this  range  of  hills  the  watercourses  flow 
north  into  the  Platte,  and  south  into  the  Arkansas. 
For  a  distance  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles 
eastward  from  the  foothills  or  hogback  the  country 
is  broken.  Then  there  is  a  treeless  expanse 
sloping  gradually  toward  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 
While  there  are  slight  depressions  and  elevations 
here  and  there,  the  land  is  for  the  most  part  level. 

The  middle  third  of  the  state  is  mountainous. 
Several  ranges  of  the  Rockies,  which  form  a  part 
of  the  Cordilleran  system,  traverse  the  state  and 
attain  here  their  greatest  altitude.  The  most 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE 


19 


MOUNT  OF  THE  HOLY  CROSS 


eastern  chain  of  mountains  is  the  Front  Range, 
also   named   the   Colorado   Range.     It  enters   the 

<T> 

state  from  Wyoming,   and   extends  southward   to 
Pike's  Peak.     The  famous  Cripple  Creek  mining 


20  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

district  is  near  its  southern  termination.  Promi- 
nent among  the  lofty  heights  of  this  range  are 
Long's  Peak,  Gray's,  Evans,  Torrey,  and  Pike's, 
all  over  fourteen  thousand  feet  high.  The  portion 
of  the  range  north  of  Estes  Park  is  sometimes 
called  the  Medicine  Bow  Mountains.  The  Platte 
and  Grand  rivers  rise  in  the  Front  Range. 

West  of  the  Front  Range  is  the  Park  Range, 
which  enters  the  state  from  Wyoming  and  runs 
south  to  the  Arkansas  Hills,  some  twenty  miles  or 
more  west  of  Cripple  Creek.  Leadville  lies  in  the 
valley  west  of  these  mountains,  which  have  several 
peaks  over  fourteen  thousand  feet  in  height.  Among 
them  are  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Lincoln,  Bross,  and 
Quandary.  The  headwaters  of  the  Yampa  River 
are  in  this  range. 

The  Sawatch  Range  is  a  high,  massive  chain 
beginning  with  the  Mount  of  the  Holy  Cross  and 
running  south  into  the  northern  part  of  Saguache 
County.  It  is  parallel  to  the  Park  Range  and 
about  sixteen  miles  west  of  it.  The  Sawatch  Range 
is  part  of  the  backbone  of  the  Rockies,  or  the  Con- 
tinental Divide.  The  streams  on  the  western  slope 
empty  into  the  Pacific,  and  those  on  the  eastern 
slope  into  the  Atlantic.  The  range  contains  some 
noted  peaks  with  an  altitude  of  over  fourteen 
thousand  feet — the  Mount  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Elbert,  La  Plata,  Yale,  Harvard,  Princeton,  An- 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  21 

tero,  Shavano,  and  Massive.  The  last  named  is 
the  highest  known  mountain  in  Colorado.  The 
sources  of  the  Gunnison  River  are  in  the  Sawatch 
Mountains. 

Farther  south  is  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Range, 
which  stretches  from  the  Arkansas  River  into  New 
Mexico.  The  southern  portion,  to  the  east  of  the 
San  Luis  Park,  is  sometimes  called  the  Culebra 
Range.  Running  parallel  to  the  Sangre  de  Cristo 
Range,  some  twenty  miles  to  the  east,  are  the  Wet 
Mountains,  in  Fremont  and  Custer  counties. 
Three  peaks  in  the  Sangre  Mountains  have  an 
altitude  exceeding  fourteen  thousand  feet — Cres- 
tone,  Humboldt,  and  the  crest  of  Sierra  Blanca. 

West  of  the  San  Luis  Park  rise  the  San  Juan 
Mountains,  running  in  a  northwesterly  direction. 
This  range,  which  is  sometimes  called  the  Alps  of 
America,  forms  the  southern  part  of  the  Conti- 
nental Divide.  On  the  eastern  slope  are  the  head- 
waters of  the  Rio  Grande,  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  On  the  western  slope  are  the  sources  of 
the  Rio  San  Juan,  which  empties  into  the  Colorado 
River  in  southern  Utah.  The  range  contains 
many  high  peaks — Eolus,  Simpson,  Stewart,  San 
Luis,  Handies,  Red  Cloud,  Uncompahgre,  and 
Sneffels,  all  of  them  over  fourteen  thousand  feet 
in  height. 

The    San   Miguel    Mountains    are   an   outlying 


TiiK  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

group  of  the  San  Juan.  They  contain  some  very 
high  peaks,  Lizard  Head  and  Wilson  being  over 
fourteen  thousand  feet  high.  Farther  north  are 
the  Elk  Mountains.  Of  these  Maroon  and  Castle 
have  an  altitude  of  over  fourteen  thousand  feet. 
Some  of  the  short  ranges  in  the  state  have  not 


WOODLAND  IN   ESTES  PARK 

been  mentioned ;  and  there  are  solitary  mountains, 
like  the  Spanish  Peaks  on  the  southern  border  of 
Huerfano  County. 

The  western  third  of  the  state  is  broken  into 
hills  and  bluffs,  extensive  valleys,  and  broad 
plateaus.  The  higher  mesas  are  wooded.  The 
surface  descends  toward  the  Utah  line,  and  much 
of  it  is  desert.  There  are  immense  tracts  of  deso- 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  23 

late  country,  almost  bare  of  vegetation  or  growing- 
only  sagebrush. 

The  mountain  parks  are  striking  features  in 
Colorado's  physical  structure.  Between  the  Front 
and  Park  ranges  and  north  of  a  cross  range  is  a 
series  of  high  mountain  basins  collectively  named 
North  Park.  It  has  an  average  elevation  of  eight 
thousand  feet,  and  an  area  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  square  miles,  mostly  in  Larimer  County. 
It  is  a  wilderness  of  groves  and  grazing  lands, 
diversified  by  streams  and  tiny  ponds.  It  is  the 
home  of  deer,  bear,  mountain  lions,  and  other  wild 
animals. 

Middle  Park  is  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the 
high  ranges  of  Grar.d  County.  It  has  an  area  of 
three  thousand  square  miles  and  an  elevation  of 
from  seven  to  nine  thousand  feet.  This  park  is 
celebrated  for  its  striking  scenery  and  its  hot  sul- 
phur springs. 

South  Park,  in  Park  County,  lies  between  Lead- 
ville  and  Cripple  Creek.  It  is  fifty  miles  long  and 
ten  miles  wide,  with  an  elevation  of  from  eight  to 
ten  thousand  feet.  In  its  sheltered  valleys  count- 
less herds  and  flocks  feed  on  the  luxuriant  grasses. 
The  fertile  soil  produces  grains,  potatoes,  and 
other  crops.  Within  the  park  are  mineral 
springs. 

Between  the  San  Juan  and    Sangre   de    Cristo 


24  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

ranges  is  the  great  San  Luis  Park,  eight  thousand 
square  miles  in  extent.  Its  surface  is  nearly  level 
and  has  an  altitude  varying  from  seven  to  eight 
thousand  feet.  It  was  once  the  bed  of  a  fresh- 
water lake,  sixty  miles  wide  and  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  long.  This  valley  is  a  fertile 
agricultural  region. 

Estes,  Egeria,  Animas,  and  other  natural  parks 
are  small  valleys  of  various  elevations  and  many 
scenic  attractions. 

The  mountain  lakes  of  Colorado  are  little  sheets 
of  water  found  at  altitudes  of  nine  and  ten  thou- 
sand feet.  They  are  fed  by  the  perpetual  snows 
of  the  surrounding  ranges. 

Colorado's  principal  rivers  are  the  Platte,  Ar- 
kansas, Rio  Grande,  San  Juan,  Dolores,  Gunnison, 
Grand,  White,  and  Yampa.  None  of  these  water- 
ways is  navigable.  The  Kansas  River  extends 
two  arms,  the  Smoky  Hill  and  the  Republican, 
into  eastern  Colorado. 

Colorado  is  the  heir  of  all  the  ages.  Millions 
of  years  before  the  elevation  of  the  Rockies,  her 
granite  rocks  were  formed.  It  is  of  this  granite 
bed  rock  that  the  Capitol  and  the  United  States 
Mint  in  Denver  are  constructed. 

Time  passed,  a  long  time,  which  we  cannot  esti- 
mate in  years.  There  came  an  era,  when, most 
of  the  continent  was  submerged.  The  Mississippi 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  25 

valley  was  a  vast  inland  sea,  and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain region  an  archipelago  of  large  islands. 

Another  era  came,  known  as  the  Age  of  Reptiles. 
Huge  saurians  disported  in  the  waters  and  were 
the  lords  of  creation.  In  this  period  of  geological 
time  the  "Red  Beds"  were  formed.  The  red 
sandstones  from  the  quarries  near  Lyons  and 
Fort  Collins  are  used  extensively  in  the  build- 
ings of  Denver  and  other  cities.  The  red  rocks 
in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  belong  to  this  far-off 
period. 

In  this  and  later  times  there  were  monsters  of 
the  deep,  and  still  greater  animals  dragged  their 
unwieldy  bodies  over  the  land.  It  was  the  time 
of  the  Dinosaurs.  These  strange  creatures  were 
both  carnivorous  and  herbivorous.  Some  of  them 
dwelt  on  land,  and  others  lived  in  the  water.  Some 
walked  upright,  and  some  crawled  about  on  all 
fours.  They  fed  on  water  plants  and  browsed 
on  the  abundant  herbage  growing  along  the  reedy 
margins  of  lakes  and  rivers.  They  were  sluggish 
reptiles  of  enormous  proportions,  having  some 
resemblance  to  the  crocodiles  of  the  present. 
The  skeleton  of  one  of  them,  excavated  at  Morrison, 
has  a  length  of  eighty  feet.  Its  ribs  are  ten  feet 
long  and  four  inches  thick.  Resting  on  its  tail 
and  two  hind  legs,  the  animal  could  rear  its  head 
some  thirty  feet  in  the  air.  There  were  smaller 


gf 

r 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  27 

species  that  were  more  active,  armed  with  claws 
and  sharp  teeth. 

One  queer  specimen  of  a  reptile  called  a  Stego- 
saur  was  covered  with  a  sort  of  armor  formed  of 
great  plates  of  bone.  It  had  a  small  head  and  a 
long  heavy  tail.  The  latter  served  as  a  third  limb 
in  sustaining  the  weight  of  the  body,  and  also  as  a 
weapon  of  defense,  for  tall  spines  covered  it. 
This  lizard-beast  had  short  fore  legs  and  very  long 
hind  legs,  which  with  the  long  tail  gave  its  back  a 
highly  arched  appearance.  Its  length  was  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  feet,  and  it  must  have  been  a 
formidable  animal  to  encounter. 

The  western  sea  was  for  a  long  time  the  habitat 
of  Mososaurs,  or  swimming  lizards  with  long  ser- 
pentine forms.  They  had  paddle-shaped  feet,  pow- 
erful tails,  and  massive  jaws  having  sharp  teeth 
with  which  they  could  capture  slippery  prey.  With 
these  murderous  sea-serpents  swam  turtles  a  dozen 
feet  long  that  had  heads  a  full  yard  in  length,  and 
voracious  fishes  with  teeth  like  spikes  prowled  in 
the  shallow  waters. 

In  this  interesting  period  of  geological  history 
the  beds  of  cream-colored  sandstone  were  formed 
in  the  foothills.  This  sandstone  is  split  into  slabs 
that  are  much  used  for  pavements  in  Denver.  Be- 
tween the  rock  strata  are  bands  of  fire-clay  that  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  tile,  pottery, 


28  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

and  crucibles.  The  white  sandstone  of  which  the 
Denver  Public  Library  is  built  wras  taken  from 
deposits  of  this  period,  formed  along  Turkey  Creek 
west  of  Pueblo.  Building  material  also  is  ob- 
tained from  the  beds  of  limestone,  some  of  them 
forty  feet  thick,  in  the  hogback. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking  sharks 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  long  swam  in  the 
Colorado  seas,  crocodiles  wallowed  in  the  mud 
along  the  shores,  and  the  islands  were  inhabited 
by  birds  with  teeth.  One  strange  flying  creature, 
the  Pterodactyl,  had  batlike  wings  that  measured 
twenty-five  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  Another  bird  of 
bulky  figure  could  swim  and  dive,  but  not  fly. 
The  deposits  of  this  period  furnish  a  superior 
brick-clay,  from  which  bright-colored  bricks  are 
made. 

In  an  epoch  called  the  Laramie  there  were 
swamps  in  places  where  deep  waters  had  rolled  for 
ages.  The  climate  was  a  great  deal  hotter  than  it 
is  now  in  Colorado.  There  were  forests  of  willow, 
oak,  poplar,  myrtle,  and  laurel.  Semi-tropical 
trees  like  those  of  California  and  southern  Texas 
flourished  in  the  country  north  of  Denver.  Species 
of  palm,  magnolia,  fig,  and  other  fruit  trees  grew 
in  profusion. 

The  hot,  moist  climate  was  favorable  to  the 
growth  of  dense  woods.  Of  the  decaying  vegeta- 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  29 

tion  were  formed  the  layers  of  coal  that  underlie 
the  surface  of  nearly  one  fifth  of  Colorado.  The 
coal-bearing  formations  in  some  sections  being 
fifteen  hundred  feet  thick,  the  forest  growths  of 
tens  of  thousands  of  years  were  necessary  to 
produce  the  veins  of  coal. 

The  Laramie  and  two  succeeding  epochs  mark 
the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  of  geological  time. 
Most  extraordinary  animals  and  reptiles,  some  of 
them  of  tremendous  size,  lived  then.  One  land 
animal,  the  Triceratops,  was  twenty-five  feet  long 
and  had  a  horned  head  that  was  all  out  of  propor- 
tion to  its  clumsy  body.  The  skulls  of  the  largest 
specimens  existing  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  Denver  sandstones  were  from  six  to  eight  feet 
long;  and  there  was  a  bird -footed  Dinosaur  about 
the  size  of  a  kangaroo. 

Meanwhile  the  seas  and  lakes  were  drained  of 
salt  water,  and  the  land  area  increased  considerably. 
The  predatory  reptilian  monsters  of  earlier  ages 
came  to  an  end.  They  were  adapted  to  the  ele- 
ments in  which  they  had  their  being,  and  when 
conditions  changed  they  passed  away.  Other 
forms  of  animal  life  succeeded  them  in  the  Age  of 
Mammals.  Then  mastodons  stalked  through  the 
forests.  Elephants,  rhinoceroses,  camels,  and  tigers 
had  their  habitat  in  Colorado,  and  all  were  of 
gigantic  size. 


30  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Then  came  the  elevation  of  the  sea  bottom  and 
islands  of  a  former  time  into  mountain  ranges. 
There  were  mighty  convulsions  of  nature.  There 
was  one  uplift  after  another.  The  period  cf 
mountain-making  lasted  a  long  while,  and  took 
place  at  least  a  million  years  ago.  The  earth's 
crust  was  broken  and  tilted;  the  strata  were 
folded  and  crumpled  up.  Volcanoes  poured  forth 
floods  of  lava  that  rolled  down  the  slopes  westward 
and  eastward.  Rhyolite  tuff  is  an  eruptive  rock 
much  used  for  buildings  in  Denver. 

As  time  passed,  enormous  masses  of  debris  were 
washed  from  the  mountainsides  and  ridges  into 
the  valleys  and  plains.  A  thousand  feet  or  more 
of  horizontal  strata  were  removed  from  above  the 
present  site  of  Denver.  The  channels  of  mountain 
streams  were  gradually  deepened  into  canons. 
Wind,  water,  and  other  agencies  are  still  producing 
similar  changes  in  the  mountain  region. 

In  the  upheavals  of  the  past  the  strata  of  the 
rocks  were  exposed,  with  the  result  that  ore  deposits 
and  veins  of  minerals  were  formed  near  fissures 
and  in  surface  placers,  where  in  the  fullness  of  time 
they  were  discovered  by  man.  In  a  half  century 
gold,  silver,  copper,  zinc,  and  lead  have  been  ex- 
tracted to  the  value  of  more  than  a  billion  dollars. 

But  greater  even  than  this  prodigious  treasure 
is  the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  Centennial  State. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  STATE  31 

The  plains  and  valleys  have  a  soil  of  wonderful 
fertility.  Before  the  possibilities  of  farming  by 
irrigation  were  known,  east  Colorado  was  included 
in  the  "Great  American  Desert."  Now  two  and 
a  half  million  acres  of  arid  waste  have  by  artificial 
watering  become  productive  of  greater  riches  than 
the  metalliferous  mines.  Colorado's  crops  of  hay, 
alfalfa,  wheat,  oats,  and  sugar  beets  harvested  in 
1906  were  valued  at  $28,000,000,  or  several  mil- 
lions more  than  the  output  of  its  gold  mines  during 
that  year. 


CHAPTER  II 

EARLY  INHABITANTS — CLIFF  DWELLERS 
AND  INDIANS 

A  STRANGE  people  lived  in  Colorado  long  ago. 
Centuries  before  America  was  discovered  by 
Columbus,  the  Southwest  was  inhabited  by  a  race 
of  men  somewhat  civilized.  Their  skeletons,  their 
rude  stone  implements,  their  architectural  remains 
have  been  found  in  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah, 
and  Colorado.  They  appear  to  have  had  the  same 
general  characteristics  as  the  peoples  found  by 
Cortez  in  Old  Mexico  and  Pizarro  in  Peru. 

In  various  parts  of  western  and  southwestern 
Colorado  are  the  ruins  of  habitations  and  rock 
shelters  dating  back  to  a  prehistoric  period.  They 
abound  in  the  Mesa  Verde  of  Montezuma  County; 
they  are  scattered  here  and  there  in  the  San  Juan 
country,  some  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pagosa 
Springs;  and  they  are  found  as  far  north  as  the 
Shavano  valley  near  Montrose.  The  time  of  their 
occupation  may  be  roughly  conjectured  to  have 
been  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  years 
ago. 

Little   is   known   of   these   early   inhabitants   of 

32 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  33 

Colorado,  for  they  left  no  literature.  Some  tradi- 
tions concerning  them  are  current  among  their 
descendants,  the  Pueblos  and  Zunis  of  New  Mexico 
and  the  Mokis  of  Arizona ;  also  a  few  legends  about 
them  survive  in  the  memories  of  the  Utes,  the 
Navajoes,  and  other  tribes  of  Indians. 

The  signs  and  inscriptions  on  the  cliffs  in  Shava- 
no  valley  and  Mancos  Canon, southwest  of  Durango, 
are  similar  to  the  pictured  records  of  the  Indians. 
They  are  as  queer  as  the  cryptograms  of  Egypt,  or 
the  cuneiforms  of  Assyria.  Some  of  the  hiero- 
glyphics have  been  deciphered  by  archaeologists. 
The  drawings  of  weapons,  animals,  and  strangely- 
clad  men  and  women  are  interpreted  as  stories  of 
journeys,  contests,  and  other  events.  As  yet  only  a 
beginning  has  been  made  along  the  lines  of  linguis- 
tic investigation,  although  quite  full  descriptions 
of  the  cliff  homes  of  this  primitive  people  have 
been  given  by  Jackson  and  Nordenskjold. 

Many  interesting  remains  known  as  cliff  dwell- 
ings have  been  found  in  what  was  formerly  the 
Southern  Ute  Reservation.  By  an  act  of  Con- 
gress in  1906  the  region  including  Mancos  Canon 
was  set  apart  as  a  government  preserve,  called 
the  Mesa  Verde  National  Park.  It  is  situated  in 
the  southwestern  corner  of  Colorado,  and,  with 
the  rim,  embraces  some  three  hundred  square  miles 
or  more. 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  35 

These  early  inhabitants  are  called  Cliff  Dwellers 
because  they  made  their  homes  in  the  cliffs  which 
formed  the  sides  of  the  many  cafions  of  the  country. 
They  fashioned  their  houses  out  of  hewn  limestone 
and  sandstone;  some  were  built  in  the  form  of  a 
square;  others  were  circular.  The  rooms  in  the 
stone  structures  found  in  Mancos  Canon  are  small, 
and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  people  who 
lived  in  them  were  undersized. 

In  some  places  cave  dwellings  were  hollowed  out 
to  a  distance  of  fifty  feet  or  more  from  the  entrance. 
These  were  large  enough  to  accommodate  at  least 
four  or  five  families.  The  inmates  seem  to  have 
climbed  up  to  them  by  difficult  pathways  where 
holes  had  been  cut  in  the  cliff  for  the  hands,  or  to 
have  entered  by  means  of  ladders,  which  were 
drawn  up  afterward  in  order  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  Indian  foes.  There  was  no  access  to 
the  caverns  from  above. 

These  cavelike  recesses  were  fortresses,  places 
of  defense  and  refuge  in  time  of  war.  Here,  when 
the  men  were  away  fighting,  the  women  and 
children  were  secure  from  attack.  Supplies  of 
food  and  drink  were  stored  in  caches  within  the 
caves,  so  the  inmates  could  stand  a  long  siege. 

There  were  watch  towers  where  sentinels  were 
posted  to  give  notice  of  the  approach  of  their 
enemies.  These  round  towers  were  generally 


36 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


from  five  to  twenty  feet  high,  and  from  ten  to  six- 
teen feet  in  diameter.  The  walls  were  from  twelve 
to  sixteen  inches  thick.  The  men  probably  entered 
the  towers  by  means  of  rope  ladders. 

Like  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  this 

earth -bur rowing 
race  was  a  peaceful, 
gentle  people  when 
not  molested.  The 
Cliff  Dwellersraised 
crops,  for  corn  and 
beans  have  been 
found  in  the  vacant 
apartments  of  their 
cavate lodges.  They 
farmed  by  irriga- 
tion in  the  valleys, 
having  ditches  and 
reservoirs  for  stor- 
ing water.  Though 
not  hunters  like  the 
Indians,  they  at 
least  made  braided- 
rope  snares  to  catch  deer  and  mountain  sheep. 

The  primitive  inhabitants  of  this  region  were 
farmers,  with  settled  abodes.  They  were  far 
superior  to  the  Utes,  who  were  nomads  and  are 
nomads  in  disposition  to  this  day.  They  had 


A  UTE  BRAVE 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  37 

stone  implements  and  dishes  made  of  fine  clay. 
Fragments  of  their  crockery  have  survived,  and 
sculptured  figures  chipped  by  them  out  of  the  rock 
have  been  found. 

It  may  be  fairly  supposed  that  the  Cliff  Dwellers 
were  relatives  of  the  Aztecs;  and  they  were  fire- 
worshipers,  like  the  ancient  Mexicans.  In  one  of 
the  interior  rooms  of  a  cliff  village  was  a  place  that 
contained  the  sacred  fire,  which  was  never  allowed 
to  go  out.  The  apartment  was  circular  in  form, 
and  evidently  was  used  for  the  practice  of  religious 
rites,  and  also  as  a  council  hall.  An  estufa,  the 
Spaniards  call  this  inner  chamber.  The  Cliff 
Dwellers  worshiped  the  sun  as  God.  On  some 
cliffs  are  rude  pictures  of  the  sun  god. 

These  people  left  behind  them  not  only  monu- 
ments of  massive  masonry,  but  evidences  of  suc- 
cessful work  in  surgery  and  dentistry.  They  knew 
something  of  astronomy.  The  decorations  on  the 
pottery  buried  with  their  dead  are  unique.  This 
picture-writing  conveyed  a  meaning  to  their  de- 
scendants. Perhaps  the  persons  singled  out  as 
worthy  of  having  painted  pottery  buried  with  them 
were  officials,  or  men  who  had  achieved  distinction. 
No  unlettered  savages  could  do  what  was  done  by 
these  early  inhabitants  of  the  Southwest. 

In  the  deserted  rooms  of  the  cliff  dwellings 
visitors  have  picked  up  fragments  of  hide,  pieces 


38  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

of  cord,  bags  containing  salt,  and  wooden  bows 
and  arrows,  bone  awls,  stone  axes  and  hammers, 
and  other  implements.  Among  the  articles  for 
domestic  use  which  have  been  discovered  are 
needles,  knives,  and  spoons  of  bone;  baskets  of 
reed  and  willow;  water  jars,  jugs,  pitchers,  mugs, 
etc.  Pieces  of  cotton  cloth  and  of  yucca  fiber  cloth, 
fringed  buckskin  garments  and  yucca  sandals 
have  been  found.  While  no  metal  tools  have  as 
yet  been  brought  to  light,  some  scholars  believe 
that  this  ancient  people  had  them. 

Possibly  the  Cliff  Dwellers  of  Mancos  Canon 
and  adjacent  localities  came  from  Utah,  where 
many  old  ruins  are  extant.  In  some  instances 
the  people  were  smoked  out  of  their  Utah  dwellings 
by  fire,  and  had  to  seek  other  quarters.  It  may  be 
that  a  volcanic  eruption  drove  them  elsewhere. 

In  the  summer  of  1874  the  first  notable  discovery 
of  Colorado  cliff  dwellings  was  made  in  the  Mesa 
Verde  by  William  H.  Jackson  and  his  companions, 
members  of  Hayden's  geological  surveying  party. 

The  Mesa  Verde  extends  north  and  south  about 
twenty,  and  east  and  west  about  forty  miles. 
Canons  with  cliff  walls  that  are  sheer  perpendicu- 
lar penetrate  the  mesa,  running  in  every  direction. 
It  is  only  here  and  there  that  the  adventurous 
climber  can  work  his  way  up  the  wooded  slopes  of 
the  escarpment.  The  canon  in  which  the  discov- 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  39 

eries  were  made  is  about  two  hundred  yards  wide, 
and  a  shallow  stream  meanders  through  it,  fringed 
by  willows  and  thorn  bushes  interlaced  with  grape- 
vines. Here  the  party  found  heaps  of  broken 
pottery  scattered  about,  and  they  kept  on  looking, 
hoping  to  find  the  remains  of  buildings.  Jackson 
writes  in  his  journal: 

"Our  camp  for  the  night  was  among  the  stunted 
pinons  and  cedar  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the 
escarpment  of  the  mesa;  its  steep  slopes  and  per- 
pendicular faces  rising  nearly  one  thousand  feet 
above  us.  Quantities  of  broken  pottery  wrere  strewn 
across  the  trail,  to  the  edge  of  the  stream,  and  as 
ruins  of  some  sort  generally  followed,  close  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  the  surroundings ;  but,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  square  inclosure  of  rough  slabs  of 
stone,  set  in  the  earth  endwise,  and  indicating,  pos- 
sibly, a  grave,  nothing  was  found  to  reward  our 
search.  Just  as  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the 
western  walls  of  the  canon,  one  of  the  party  descried 
far  up  the  cliff  what  appeared  to  be  a  house,  with  a 
square  wall,  and  apertures  indicating  two  stories, 
but  so  far  up  that  only  the  very  sharpest  eyes 
could  define  anything  satisfactorily. 
*  *  * 

"All  hands  started  up,  but  only  two  persevered  to 
the  end.  The  first  five  hundred  feet  of  ascent  were 
over  a  long,  steep  slope  of  debris  overgrown  with 


-10  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

cedar;  then  came  alternate  perpendiculars  and 
slopes.  Immediately  below  the  house  was  a 
nearly  perpendicular  ascent  of  one  hundred  feet, 
that  puzzled  us  for  a  while,  and  wThich  we  were  only 
able  to  surmount  by  rinding  cracks  and  crevices 
into  which  ringers  and  toes  could  be  inserted. 
From  the  little  ledges  occasionally  found,  and  by 
stepping  upon  each  other's  shoulders,  and  grasping 
tufts  of  yucca,  one  would  draw  himself  up  to 
another  shelf,  and  then,  by  letting  down  a  stick  of 
cedar,  or  a  hand,  would  assist  the  other.  Soon  we 
reached  a  slope,  smooth  and  steep,  in  which  there 
had  been  cut  a  series  of  steps,  now  weathered  away 
into  a  series  of  undulating  hummocks,  by  which  it 
was  easy  to  ascend,  and  without  them,  almost  an 
impossibility.  Another  short,  steep  slope,  and  we 
were  under  the  ledge  upon  which  was  our  house. 

*  *         * 

"The  house  stood  upon  a  narrow  ledge,  which 
formed  the  floor,  and  was  overhung  by  the  rocks  of 
the  cliff.  The  depth  of  this  ledge  was  about  ten 
[feet]  by  twenty  in  length,  and  the  vertical  space  be- 
tween ledge  and  overhanging  rock  some  fifteen  feet. 

*  JR         * 

"The  house  itself,  perched  up  in  its  little  crevice 
like  a  swallow's  nest,  consisted  of  two  stories,  with 
a  total  height  of  about  twelve  feet,  leaving  a  space 
of  two  or  three  feet  between  the  top  of  the  walls  and 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  41 

the  overhanging  rock.  We  could  not  determine 
satisfactorily  whether  any  other  roof  had  ever  ex- 
isted or  whether  the  walls  ran  up  higher  and  joined 
the  rock,  but  we  incline  to  the  first  supposition. 
The  ground-plan  showed  a  front  room  about  six 
by  nine  feet  in  dimensions,  and  back  of  it  two 
smaller  ones,  the  face  of  the  rock  forming  their 
back  walls.  These  were  each  about  five  by  seven 
feet  square.  The  left  hand  of  the  two  back  rooms 
projected  beyond  the  front  room  in  an  L.  The 
cedar  beams,  which  had  divided  the  house  into 
two  floors,  were  gone,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
splintered  pieces  and  ends  remaining  in  the  wall, 
just  enough  to  show  what  they  were  made  of.  We 
had  some  little  doubt  as  to  whether  the  back  rooms 
were  divided  in  the  same  wray,  nothing  remaining 
to  prove  the  fact,  excepting  holes  in  the  walls,  at 
the  same  height  as  the  beams  in  the  other  portion. 
In  the  lower  front  room  are  two  apertures,  one 
serving  as  a  door,  and  opening  out  upon  the  es- 
planade, about  twenty  by  thirty  inches  in  size,  the 
lower  sill  twenty-four  inches  from  the  floor;  and 
the  other  a  small  outlook,  about  twelve  inches 
square,  up  near  the  ceiling,  and  looking  over  the 
canon  beneath.  In  the  upper  story,  a  window 
corresponding  in  size,  shape,  and  position  to  the 
door  below,  commands  an  extended  view  down 
the  canon. 


42  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

"Ruins  of  half  a  dozen  lesser  houses  were  found 
near  by,  but  all  in  such  exposed  situations  as  to  be 
quite  dilapidated.  Some  had  been  crushed  by 
the  overhanging  wall  falling  upon  them,  and  others 
had  lost  their  foothold  and  tumbled  down  the 

precipice. 

#         *         * 

"Scratched  into  the  face  of  the  cliff  which  con- 
tains these  houses  are  various  inscriptions.  .  .  . 
As  they  are  not  cut  in  very  deeply,  and  in  some 
places  mere  scratches,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether 
they  are  contemporaneous  with  the  houses 
themselves." 

Since  Jackson  and  Holmes  explored  the  ruins  in 
Mancos  Canon,  other  travelers  have  penetrated 
branch  canons  of  this  region,  which  was  once 
well  peopled.  They  have  examined  hundreds  of 
villages,  or  groups  of  houses  that  were  occupied  by 
clans  in  that  distant  past.  One  December  day 
in  1888  Alfred  and  Richard  Wetherill,  ranchers 
from  the  neighborhood  to  the  north  of  the  reserva- 
tion, were  looking  for  some  lost  cattle.  While 
riding  through  the  labyrinth  of  canons,  the  two  men 
suddenly  came  upon  a  massive  pile  of  walls  and 
towers.  The  crumbling  heap  had  an  appearance 
so  grand  and  imposing  that  it  has  been  named 
the  "Cliff  Palace."  Not  far  from  this  place  they 
found  another  majestic  monument,  now  called  the 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  43 

"Spruce  Tree  House."  These  remarkable  re- 
mains were  described  by  the  Swedish  traveler 
Nordenskjold,  who  also  explored  the  cliff  villages 
in  Wetherill  Mesa  and  Chapin's  Mesa. 

In  the  summer  of  1907,  Dr.  A.  J.  Fynn  of  Denver 
discovered  in  Spruce  Tree  Canon  a  portion  of  a 
structure  six  stories  high.  It  was  very  artistically 
built  of  blocks  of  stone,  regularly  cut,  and  contained 
at  least  forty  rooms.  It  was  given  the  name, 
"Peabody  House,"  in  honor  of  Mrs.  W.  S.  Peabody. 
Another  member  of  the  same  exploring  party,  Pro- 
fessor E.  S.  Hewitt,  discovered  a  cliff  ruin  that 
was  christened  the  "Red  House,"  because  of  the 
red  sandstone  about  it.  Among  other  finds  in  the 
vicinity  was  that  of  a  ceremonial  stone,  picked  up 
near  a  room  of  worship.  This  circular  room  was 
on  a  lower  floor,  and  could  be  entered  only  through 
an  opening  in  the  top.  These  discoveries  aid 
the  imagination  in  picturing  the  life  of  the  town- 
building  people  who  once  resided  on  this  lofty 
plateau. 

The  Cliff  Dwellers  could  not  hold  their  own 
against  the  onslaughts  of  hostile  Indian  tribes. 
With  all  their  skill,  they  did  not  make  so  good 
weapons  as  did  their  enemies;  and  just  as  the  red 
men  have  gone  dowrn  before  the  advancing  march 
of  the  whites  with  their  firearms  and  artillery,  so 
did  this  earlier  race  fall  before  the  bow  and  arrows 


44  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

and  the  tomahawk  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Utes  and 
Apaches.  Like  the  former  inhabitants  of  Old 
Mexico,  they  were  agriculturists,  not  fighters,  and 
they  made  only  an  ineffectual  resistance  to  their 
enemies.  To  this  day  may  be  seen  the  mounds  on 
the  hills  that  were  formerly  fortified,  with  lookout 
points  here  and  there  where  guards  were  stationed 
to  give  warning.  All  in  vain.  It  was  a  case  of  the 
survival  of  the  strongest  rather  than  the  fittest. 

That  the  Cliff  Dwellers  of  Colorado  and  the 
Pueblos  of  the  Great  Plateau  in  the  Southwest 
formed  one  people,  seems  altogether  likely.  The 
Pueblos,  who  lived  in  underground  villages, 
numbered  millions  in  the  eleventh  century.  The 
Navajoes  and  other  savage  tribes  fought  them  and 
slew  many.  Suddenly  most  of  the  early  inhabit- 
ants of  the  broad  expanse  of  country  north  of 
Mexico  vanished.  Perhaps  there  had  come  an 
urgent  call  from  Montezuma  for  help. 

The  aborigines,  or  red  men,  as  they  are  generally 
called,  had  roamed  over  the  country  west  of  the 
Missouri  River  for  ages  before  the  coming  of  Euro- 
peans to  the  New  World.  We  do  not  know  how 
long  they  had  been  here  or  who  their  ancestors 
were.  They  were  for  the  most  part  tribes  of  the 
Shoshonean  stock,  and  they  wandered  at  will  from 
Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  seven  tribes  of  the  Utes  occupied  the  valleys 


EARLY  INHABITANTS   .  45 

and  mesas  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  some- 
times traversed  the  plains  to  the  east  of  the  Rockies, 
usually  camping  along  the  Platte  and  Arkansas 
rivers  or  their  tributaries.  They  also  inhabited 
the  western  portions  of  Colorado.  Tribes  of  Utes 
and  Pah-Utes  dwelt,  too,  in  Utah. 

That  part  of  Colorado  east  of  the  Front  Range 
and  north  of  the  Arkansas  River  was  the  home  of 
the  Cheyennes  and  the  Arapahoes.  The  Kiowas 
and  Comanches  roamed  over  the  country  south  of 
the  Arkansas.  The  four  tribes  mentioned  did  not 
confine  their  wanderings  to  these  regions.  Bands 
of  Cheyennes  frequently  strayed  northward  into 
Wyoming,  or  eastward  into  Nebraska.  The  Arapa- 
hoes made  occasional  raids  into  the  mountains  for 
the  ponies  and  scalps  of  the  Utes.  The  Colorado 
Kiowas  often  journeyed  by  easy  stages  southward 
across  the  plains  of  New  Mexico  into  Texas.  The 
Indians  of  all  these  tribes  were  nomads.  They 
moved  about  from  place  to  place  where  they  found 
good  pasturage  for  their  horses.  They  depended 
for  their  livelihood  chiefly  upon  the  chase,  and  went 
where  game  was  plentiful. 

The  Navajoes  and  Apaches  were  later  arrivals 
than  the  Utes  in  what  are  now  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain states.  They  belong  to  another  Indian  family, 
the  Athapascan  of  British  America.  They  were  a 
bold,  warlike  people.  In  the  sixteenth  century 


46  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

the  Spaniards  found  the  Navajoes  on  the  Rio  San 
Juan  in  both  Colorado  and  New  Mexico  The 
Apaches  had  no  fixed  habitations,  but  roamed 
over  the  entire  region  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Rio  Gila. 

The  Navajoes  were  more  of  a  pastoral  people 
than  some  of  the  other  tribes ;  they  had  their  flocks 
and  herds.  In  southwestern  Colorado  they  came 
in  contact  with  the  Utes,  and  intermittently  fought 
with  them  for  the  possession  of  the  grazing  lands 
in  the  valleys  along  the  streams. 

From  time  to  time  bands  of  Plains  Indians,  be- 
longing to  tribes  of  Pawnees,  Cherokees,  Choc- 
taws,  and  Kickapoos,  followed  the  course  of  the 
Platte  or  the  Arkansas  westward  almost  into  the 
mountains,  and  engaged  in  bloody  conflicts  with 
the  Colorado  tribes.  So  the  West  was  a  great 
battle  ground  for  hostile  savages. 

It  is  probable  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  this 
region  all  had  a  common  origin,  which  is  lost  in  the 
mists  of  a  faraway  past.  The  Pueblos  and  Mokis 
of  to-day  are  called  Indians,  and  their  ancestors, 
like  the  Aztecs  of  Old  Mexico,  were  of  the  same 
race  as  the  red  men.  However,  as  centuries  passed, 
they  came  to  differ  from  the  wild  Indians  in  some 
important  respects. 

The  Pueblos  and  their  cousins  the  Cliff  Dwellers 
had  permanent  abodes,  while  their  distant  relatives 


EARLY  INHABITANTS  47 

of  the  wild  tribes  roamed  over  a  wide  stretch  of 
country.  They  were  peaceful  farmers,  while  the 
Utes  and  Arapahoes  were  hunters  and  nomads,  who 
engaged  in  predatory  warfare  with  their  neighbors. 
They  built  houses,  while  the  savages  lived  in  tepees 
and  wickiups.  They  wore  clothes,  while  the 
roving  red  men  went  nearly  naked,  except  in  the 
most  inclement  weather.  They  were  industrious 
and  accumulated  property,  while  the  copper- 
colored  denizens  of  the  wilderness  wrere  lazy  and 
improvident.  In  consequence,  the  sun-worship- 
ing Cliff  Dwellers  reached  a  higher  plane  of  culture 
than  did  the  warring  bands  of  nomadic  Indians 
that  fought  them  and  at  last  all  but  exterminated 
them.  The  Utes  and  Arapahoes  made  no  progress, 
while  the  builders  of  the  cliff  dwellings,  like  the 
peoples  whom  the  Spanish  found  in  Mexico  and 
Peru,  were  on  the  road  to  civilization.  Among 
the  Pueblos  one  man  had  one  wife,  while  the  wild 
Indians  were  polygamists. 

As  late  as  the  sixties  bison,  bear,  deer,  and  other 
game  animals  abounded  on  the  western  plains,  and 
the  encroachments  of  the  whites  on  the  red  men's 
hunting-grounds  led  to  massacres  and  wars,  which 
will  be  described  in  later  chapters  of  the  book. 


CHAPTER  III 
PIKE 

COLORADO'S  history  begins  with  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain expedition  of  Captain  Pike  in  1806-7.  At 
that  time  New  Spain  extended  far  to  the  north  of 
Old  Mexico;  it  included  a  strip  of  what  is  now 
southern  Colorado  and  the  western  slope.  The 
remaining  part  of  the  state,  from  the  Arkansas 
River  north  to  Wyoming,  belonged  to  the  Territory 
of  Louisiana,  which  the  United  States  had  pur- 
chased from  France  in  1803. 

Since  the  time  of  Coronado  the  Spaniards  had 
made  a  number  of  expeditions  across  the  Buffalo 
Plains  into  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  In  the  eigh- 
teenth century  several  Spanish  explorers  found  their 
way  into  southwestern  Colorado.  A  party  under 
Padre  Escalante  set  out  from  Santa  Fe  in  July, 
1776,  and  reached  the  San  Juan  country.  They 
bestowed  upon  the  streams  they  crossed  the  names 
of  Piedra,  Florida,  Las  Animas,and  Dolores.  They 
traveled  northward  to  the  Gunnison  River,  which 
had  been  visited  by  Rivera  in  1761.  Then  they 
pursued  their  course  by  a  circuitous  route  north- 
west to  White  River  and  passed  into  Utah.  Other 

48 


PIKE 


49 


Spanish  adventurers  made  tours  through  southern 
Colorado. 

Escalante's  object  was  to  find  a  route  from  Santa 
Fe  to  the  upper  coast  of  California,  then  a  part  of 
Hispania  Nova.  The  others  were  searching  for 
the  precious  metals.  They  made  some  unimportant 
discoveries  of  gold 
and  silver  mines, 
which  were  never  de- 
veloped by  them  to 
any  extent.  They 
established  no  mis- 
sions and  founded 
no  permanent  settle- 
ments within  the 
present  limits  of  the 
Centennial  State. 

Escalante  left 
some  descriptions  of 
the  country  through 
which  he  journeyed, 
and  doubtless  there 

are  records  in  Spanish  of  the  travels  of  other  daring 
spirits  who  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  Colorado,  but 
Pike's  "Journal"  was  the  first  published  account 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  known  to  Americans. 
One  adventurer,  James  Pursley  (or  Purcell)  of 
Kentucky,  is  said  to  have  wandered  among  the 


LIEUTENANT  PIKE 


50  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Plains  Indians  and  crossed  the  Snowy  Range  be- 
tween the  Platte  and  Grand  rivers  about  the  year 
1805.  Perhaps  other  citizens  of  the  United  States 
had  ventured  into  the  wilds  of  what  is  now  the 
Centennial  State.  If  so,  they  kept  no  diaries  that 
have  been  printed.  Therefore,  we  may  say  that 
Colorado's  history  begins  with  the  expedition  made 
by  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike  a  century  ago. 

The  fame  of  this  courageous  soldier  and  ex- 
plorer is  as  enduring  as  that  of  Lewis  and  Clark, 
who  spanned  the  American  continent  in  1804-5. 
Pike  was  born  near  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  January 
5,  1779.  He  came  of  military  stock.  His  father 
was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  later 
served  in  the  army  as  a  major.  The  son  was  not 
long  in  school;  he  became  a  cadet  in  the  ranks  as 
soon  as  he  was  able  to  bear  arms,  when  but  fifteen 
years  old.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  a 
lieutenant;  in  1806  he  became  captain;  in  1808, 
major;  in  1812,  colonel;  arid  in  1813,  brigadier- 
general. 

The  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  was  made  under 
the  auspices  of  the  general  government.  Pike's 
expeditions  were  military  enterprises.  He  was 
accompanied  by  soldiers,  and  he  was  in  frequent 
communication  with  General  Wilkinson  and  the 
Secretary  of  War.  The  objects  of  his  expeditions 
were  both  geographical  and  political.  The  West 


PIKE  51 

was  then  unknown  and  unexplored,  save  by  Lewis 
and  Clark.  The  War  Department,  as  well  as 
President  Jefferson,  desired  information  concerning 
the  recently  acquired  Louisiana  Territory. 

Lieutenant  Pike  was  only  twenty-six  years  old 
when  he  was  chosen  to  lead  an  expedition  to  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi.  He  set  sail  from  St. 
Louis  with  twenty  soldiers,  on  the  afternoon  of 
August  9,  1805.  He  was  directed  to  ascend  the 
Mississippi  to  its  source,  charting  the  course  of  the 
river,  noting  its  tributaries,  locating  rapids,  falls, 
and  so  forth,  and  describing  the  character  of  the 
country  on  both  sides.  He  was  to  visit  the  Indian 
nations  and  make  treaties  with  them,  using  his 
best  efforts  to  prevent  intertribal  wars,  and  he  was 
to  bring  the  British  traders  to  book  in  the  North- 
west (now  Minnesota).  The  voyage  was  success- 
fully accomplished.  The  party  were  back  in  St. 
Louis  April  30,  1806,  after  an  absence  of  eight 
months  and  twenty-two  days. 

Immediately  after  his  return  from  this  arduous 
journey,  Pike  was  urged  by  his  commander  to 
undertake  another.  On  the  second  expedition  he 
was  sent  to  explore  the  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas 
and  Red  rivers,  and  to  assert  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  government  over  the  tribes  of  savages. 
It  is  probable  that  he  was  instructed  to  ascertain 
more  definitely  the  boundary  between  our  country 


52  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

and  the  northern  provinces  of  New  Spain.  Per- 
haps, in  addition,  he  was  expected  to  try  to  enter 
Spanish  territory  and  inform  his  superior  officer  as 
to  the  land  and  people.  His  tour  was  to  be  one  of 
exploration  for  geographical  knowledge,  and  he 
was  to  report  concerning  encroachments  by  the 
Spaniards  on  the  south. 

Pike  was  chosen  to  conduct  this  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous enterprise  because  of  his  superior  qualifi- 
cations. His  Mississippi  voyage  had  shown  him  to 
be  eminently  fitted  for  the  undertaking.  He  was 
a  soldier  of  fortune,  who  recked  little  of  hardships 
and  privations;  these  were  forgotten  in  the  quest 
of  information  that  would  be  useful  to  his  country. 

On  July  15,  1806,  Pike  set  sail  from  St.  Louis 
up  the  Missouri  River.  He  was  accompanied  by  a 
surgeon,  an  interpreter,  and  twenty-one  soldiers. 
Fifteen  of  the  soldiers  had  been  with  him  on  his 
Mississippi  expedition.  He  was  charged  with  the 
mission  of  returning  fifty-one  Indian  captives  to 
their  relatives  in  the  villages  on  the  Osage  River. 

After  accompanying  the  Osage  captives  to  their 
homes  in  western  Missouri,  the  exploring  party 
struck  across  the  prairies  to  the  Pawnee  Republic 
on  the  Republican  River,  near  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  Kansas.  The  chief  told  him  that  a  force 
of  Spanish  soldiers  under  Lieutenant  Malgares 
had  lately  visited  them.  The  Spaniards  had  heard 


PIKE  53 

in  advance  of  Pike's  expedition,  and  had  set  out 
with  the  intention  of  intercepting  the  party.  For- 
tunately for  Pike,  they  mistimed  the  visit  and  re- 
turned a  few  weeks  before  his  coming. 

Marching  southwest,  Pike  and  his  little  band 
traversed  the  plains  to  the  Arkansas  (or  Arkansaw, 
as  he  spelled  it).  On  October  28  the  company 
separated,  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  with  five  soldiers 
sailing  down  the  river  and  Pike  with  fifteen  soldiers 
going  up  stream.  Pike's  route  was  not  far  from 
what  is  now  the  line  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  to  the 
present  site  of  Pueblo.  Game  was  abundant  on 
the  plains,  and  the  party  killed  deer,  elk,  antelope, 
and  buffalo,  for  their  subsistence. 

Several  times  they  encountered  large  bands  of 
Pawnees,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  there  was  no 
bloodshed.  One  day  they  met  an  unsuccessful 
war  party  returning  home.  Pike  put  on  a  bold 
front,  but  was  obliged  to  submit  to  insolence  from 
the  braves  before  he  was  rid  of  them. 

The  little  band  traveled  along  the  south  bank  of 
the  Arkansas,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  November 
15  they  reached  a  point  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Purgatory  River  with  the  Arkansas.  "Here  the 
mountains  are  first  seen,"  is  marked  on  Pike's 
map.  He  was  riding  a  little  ahead  of  the  party 
when  he  got  his  first  glimpse  of  the  mountain  that 
bears  his  name.  By  air  line  he  was  more  than  a 


54  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

hundred  miles  from  the  great  "White  Mountain," 
whose  outlines  were  faintly  distinguished  to  the 
northwest.  In  his  journal  Pike  says  it  appeared 
like  a  small  blue  cloud.  A  half  hour  later  the 
Front  and  Sangre  de  Cristo  ranges  appeared  in 
full  view,  and  when  his  men  came  up  they  gave 
vent  to  their  feelings  with  "three  cheers  to  the 
Mexican  Mountains." 

The  explorers  pushed  forward,  and  a  week  later 
arrived  at  the  present  site  of  Pueblo.  After  build- 
ing a  breastwork  for  defense,  the  leader  left  here 
the  greater  number  of  the  party,  and,  with  three 
companions,  made  a  side-trip  northward,  with  the 
view  of  ascending  "to  the  high  point  of  the  blue 
mountain,"  which  he  believed  "would  be  one  day's 
march,  in  order  from  its  pinnacle  to  lay  down  the 
various  branches  and  positions  of  the  country." 

In  the  thin  air  of  Colorado  far-off  objects  seem 
near,  and  Pike  found  the  distance  much  greater 
than  he  had  expected.  On  November  24  the  little 
party  proceeded  twelve  miles.  "We  marched  at 
one  o'clock  with  an  idea  of  arriving  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,"  Pike  writes,  "but  found  ourselves 
obliged  to  take  up  our  night's  lodging  under  a 
single  cedar,  which  we  found  in  the  prairie,  with- 
out water  and  extremely  cold.  Our  party  besides 
myself  consisted  of  Dr.  Robinson,  and  Privates 
Miller  and  Brown." 


PIKE  55 

The  next  day  he  "marched  early,  with  an  expec- 
tation of  ascending  the  mountain,  but  was  only 
able  to  encamp  at  its  base,  after  passing  over  many 
small  hills  covered  with  cedars  and  pitch  pines." 
That  day  he  covered  a  distance  of  twenty-two 
miles,  as  he  figured  it,  in  the  hilly  country  along 
Turkey  Creek. 

In  the  morning  of  the  26th  the  four  men  began 
the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  "Found  it  very  diffi- 
cult," the  journal  goes  on,  "being  obliged  to 
climb  up  rocks  sometimes  almost  perpendicular; 
and,  after  marching  all  day,  we  encamped  in  a 
cave,  without  blankets,  victuals,  or  water.  We 
had  a  fine  clear  sky,  whilst  it  was  snowing  at  the 
bottom." 

The  men  passed  a  miserable  night,  but  Pike  was 
determined  to  scale  the  peak.  The  day's  experi- 
ences are  thus  described  in  his  journal: 

"Arose  hungry,  dry,  and  extremely  sore,  from 
the  inequality  of  the  rocks,  on  which  wre  had  lain 
all  night,  but  were  amply  compensated  for  toil  by 
the  sublimity  of  the  prospects  below.  The  un- 
bounded prairie  was  overhung  with  clouds,  which 
appeared  like  the  ocean  in  a  storm;  wave  piled  on 
wave  and  foaming,  whilst  the  sky  was  perfectly 
clear  where  we  were.  Commenced  our  march  up 
the  mountain,  and  in  about  one  hour  arrived  at  the 
summit  of  this  chain;  here  \ve  found  the  snow 


56  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

middle  deep;  no  sign  of  beast  or  bird  inhabiting 
this  region.  The  thermometer,  which  stood  at 
nine  degrees  above  zero  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, here  fell  to  four  degrees  below  zero.  The 
summit  of  the  Grand  Peak,  which  was  entirely 
bare  of  vegetation  and  covered  with  snow,  now 
appeared  at  the  distance  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles 
from  us,  and  as  high  again  as  what  we  had  as- 
cended, and  would  have  taken  a  whole  day's  march 
to  have  arrived  at  its  base,  whence  I  believe  no 
human  being  could  have  ascended  to  its  pinnacle. 
This  with  the  condition  of  my  soldiers  who  had 
only  light  overalls  on,  and  no  stockings,  and  every 
way  ill  provided  to  endure  the  inclemency  of  the 
region ;  the  bad  prospect  of  killing  anything  to  sub- 
sist on,  with  the  further  detention  of  two  or  three 
days,  which  it  must  occasion,  determined  us  to 
return." 

There  is  a  group  of  mountains  to  the  south  and 
southwest  of  Pike's  Peak,  and  it  is  a  question  as  to 
which  one  of  them  Pike  ascended.  Cheyenne 
Mountain  lay  directly  in  his  path,  but  he  may  have 
climbed  Mount  Rosa  or  some  other  peak  in  this 
part  of  the  Front  Range. 

Although  he  made  a  determined  effort,  Pike 
failed  to  set  foot  on  the  Grand  Peak.  However, 
he  immortalized  his  name  by  making  the  attempt. 
On  the  29th  he  and  his  companions  rejoined  the 


PIKE 


r>7 


main  party  at  the  Pueblo  breastworks,  after   an 
absence  of  more  than  five  days. 

The  next  morning  it  was  snowing  hard,  yet  the 
company  set  out,  undismayed.  They  found  it 
hard  marching  in  the  rugged  and  hilly  country 
along  the  river.  Their  progress  was  slow,  and 


BIGHORN   RAM 


they  suffered  much  from  the  cold.  On  December  2 
the  temperature  fell  to  seventeen  degrees  below 
zero.  The  men  had  no  thick  winter  clothing,  and 
they  underwent  frightful  hardships.  Their  shoes 
were  worn  out,  and  they  had  to  cut  up  buffalo  hides 
for  moccasins.  The  horses,  too,  were  in  poor  con- 
dition, with  sore  backs,  on  which  magpies  and  crows 
alighted  to  peck  the  bloody  flesh. 


5S  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  following  day  Pike  took  observations  and 
tried  to  measure  the  altitude  of  the  great  moun- 
tain to  the  north.  He  was  wide  of  the  mark  in 
estimating  its  elevation  to  be  18,581  feet.  Scien- 
tists of  our  day  have  found  the  altitude  of  Pike's 
Peak  to  be  14,107  feet  above  sea  level. 

Pike  declared  that  this  towering  summit  \vas 
never  out  of  his  sight  in  his  wanderings,  except 
while  he  was  in  a  valley,  from  November  14  to 
January  27.  According  to  his  own  statement,  he 
was  not  the  first  man  to  be  impressed  by  the  great- 
ness of  this  monarch  among  mountains.  It  was  a 
landmark  to  the  Indian  nations  for  hundreds  of 
miles  around.  The  Spaniards  of  New  Mexico 
looked  upon  it  with  admiration,  and  it  was  the 
goal  of  their  travels  to  the  northwest.  But  to  Pike 
belongs  the  honor  of  making  it  known  to  Ameri- 
cans; he  gave  it  a  place  in  history,  a  habitation 
and  a  name.  In  this  sense,  the  rugged  sentinel  of 
the  plains  wras  discovered  by  him  in  1806. 

On  December  5  the  party  camped  near  the  en- 
trance of  the  chasm  known  as  the  Royal  Gorge. 
They  were  now  in  the  shadow  of  the  Rockies. 
Winter  had  come,  and  it  would  have  been  the  part 
of  prudence  to  build  a  log  blockhouse  and  stay  here 
till  spring.  Caesar,  in  his  campaigns  in  ancient 
Gaul  and  Britain,  always  interrupted  military 
operations  for  three  months  in  winter.  Pike  was 


PIKE  59 

not  so  sensible  as  the  Roman  commander,  or  else 
he  had  a  special  reason  for  exposing  himself  and 
his  men  to  the  rigors  of  a  winter  march  in  the 
mountains.  It  may  be  that  he  was  acting  in 
accordance  with  oral  instructions  given  by  Wilkin- 
son, who  is  supposed  to  have  been  involved  in 
Aaron  Burr's  conspiracy  to  found  an  empire  in  the 
Southwest;  if  such  was  the  case,  Pike's  course  is 
accounted  for. 

None  of  the  party  was  used  to  mountaineering, 
and  Pike  had  no  experienced  guide.  The  men 
lacked  not  only  clothing  but  other  supplies  needful 
for  a  long  jaunt  through  the  pathless  wilds.  The 
leader  must  have  remembered  vividly  the  sufferings 
of  himself  and  companions  the  previous  winter  on 
the  upper  Mississippi.  He  certainly  ought  to  have 
known  better  than  to  continue  his  march  at  that 
season  of  the  year. 

Pike  was  not  the  only  hero  in  the  little  band  of 
explorers  who  braved  the  horrors  of  that  terrible 
winter  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  all  shared 
the  hardships  and  difficulties;  and  not  a  man 
flinched  or  murmured,  except  once.  The  annals 
of  exploration  contain  the  records  of  no  more 
faithful  and  courageous  men. 

Pike's  impatience  to  be  moving  would  not  per- 
mit his  lying  still  in  camp.  So  on  the  party  went. 
After  scouting  several  days  in  the  vicinity  of  what 


00  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

is  now  Cailon  City,  they  started  up  Oil  Creek 
toward  South  Park  on  December  10.  Three  days 
later  they  crossed  the  Park  Range,  the  dividing 
ridge  between  the  Arkansan  and  Missourian  waters. 
They  were  then  at  an  elevation  of  over  nine  thou- 
sand feet. 

On  the  14th  they  broke  up  camp  at  the  head  of 
Eleven  Mile  Canon,  in  South  Park,  and  followed 
up  the  Platte,  which  was  frozen  over.  In  the 
course  of  their  wanderings  in  the  next  few  days 
they  found  traces  of  abandoned  Indian  camps. 
On  the  17th  they  reached  the  headwaters  of  the 
Tlatte. 

The  snow  was  deep  and  the  cold  intense,  but 
Pike  resolutely  pressed  forward.  Without  know- 
ing the  trails,  which  were  hidden  beneath  the  snow, 
the  explorers  picked  their  way  through  the  maze 
of  unexplored  mountains.  Finally  they  got  through 
the  Park  Range  by  Trout  Creek  Pass.  Again 
they  struck  the  Arkansas  River,  "which  here  was 
about  twenty-five  yards  wide,  ran  with  great  rapid- 
ity, and  was  full  of  rocks."  Pike  then  supposed  it 
to  be  Red  River. 

From  a  point  near  Buena  Vista  the  company 
ascended  the  Arkansas,  and  camped  under  the 
shadow  of  Mount  Harvard  of  the  Sawatch  Range. 
The  next  day  Pike  with  two  men  set  out  for  a  prom- 
inent point  of  the  range,  where  he  sighted  the 


PIKE  01 

sources  of  the  Arkansas  River  to  the  west  of  Lead  • 
ville.  He  was  then  on  a  sharp  spur  southeast  of 
Twin  Lakes.  This  was  the  most  northern  point 
reached  by  the  expedition.  At  no  time  did  Pike 
cross  the  Continental  Divide. 

Now  he  turned  about  and  descended  the  Arkan- 
sas. The  men  were  benumbed  with  cold  and  half 
starved,  going  nearly  two  days  without  food.  For- 
tunately for  them,  a  small  herd  of  mountain  bison 
were  wintering  in  the  fastnesses  near  Brown's 
Canon.  The  hunters  killed  eight  buffaloes  and 
got  an  ample  supply  of  meat.  This  saved  the 
party  from  starvation. 

In  their  ignorance  of  passes  and  trails  the  ex- 
plorers blundered  along,  taking  the  most  round- 
about and  difficult  route.  On  December  24  they 
halted  a  little  distance  north  of  Salida.  Here  they 
spent  a  cheerless  Christmas  in  camp. 

On  the  following  afternoon  the  explorers  marched 
some  seven  miles  to  the  north  end  of  the  Sangre  de 
Cristo  Range.  Thence  they  continued  down  the 
Arkansas  River  by  a  very  rough  route.  They  had 
an  awful  time  of  it,  struggling  over  rocks  and 
precipices.  The  men  made  sleds  and  hauled  the 
loads  taken  from  the  backs  of  the  exhausted  horses. 
They  averaged  only  about  ten  miles  a  day. 

When  occasion  called  for  self-sacrifice,  Pike  was 
ready  to  give  up  comforts  for  others.  One  night 


62  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

he  slept  out  in  the  snow,  his  tent  being  occupied 
by  sick  men. 

On  New  Year's  Day  the  foremost  of  the  scat- 
tered band  approached  the  Grand  Canon  of  the 
Arkansas.  This  day  one  of  the  hunters  shot  a 
bighorn  ram.  The  next  day  the  party  found 
marching  exceedingly  difficult,  and  made  a  dis- 
tance of  only  one  mile.  The  horses  lost  their  foot- 
ing and  had  bad  falls  down  the  steep  slopes.  One 
was  hurt  so  severely  that  it  was  shot. 

The  way  over  the  steep  cliffs  and  rocks  beside 
the  Royal  Gorge  was  so  difficult  that  the  party 
kept  to  the  river.  It  was  frequently  necessary  to 
cut  roads  on  the  slippery  ice  and  thus  go  around 
precipices.  At  times  the  men  covered  the  track 
with  earth,  to  avoid  slipping. 

On  January  5,  1807,  Pike  finally  escaped  from 
the  gorge,  and  he  was  surprised  to  find  himself  at 
his  old  camp  near  the  present  site  of  Canon  City. 
Till  now  he  had  fancied  that  he  was  on  Red  River, 
whose  sources  he  had  been  instructed  to  discover. 
It  was  with  chagrin  he  learned  that  he  had  only 
traveled  around  in  a  circle.  This  was  the  cap- 
tain's birthday.  "Most  fervently  did  I  hope  never 
to  pass  another  so  miserably,"  he  jotted  down  in 
his  journal. 

Three  days  passed  before  all  the  stragglers  ar- 
rived. A  rude  blockhouse  was  built  on  the  north 


PIKE 


63 


ROYAL  GORGE,  GRAND  CANON  OF  THE  ARKANSAS 
Courtesy  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Ry. 

bank  of  the  Arkansas,  and  after  a  short  rest  the 
explorers  were  off  again.  Two  men  were  left  in 
the  camp  in  charge  of  baggage  and  the  broken- 


64  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

down  horses.  Pike  and  the  others  set  out  on  foot, 
each  carrying  a  load  of  about  seventy  pounds,  con- 
sisting of  arms,  tools,  provisions,  and  presents  for 
the  Indians.  This  terrible  trip  should  never  have 
been  attempted  in  the  dead  of  winter  with  the  poor 
outfit  at  Pike's  command. 

On  the  14th  the  little  party  started  southward 
on  a  further  search  for  the  elusive  Red  River.  They 
plodded  on  through  almost  impassable  mountains. 
They  stumbled  along  through  the  main  ridge  of  the 
Wet  Mountains;  then  the  trail  led  the  freezing, 
starving  explorers  through  the  Wet  Mountain 
valley. 

In  crossing  a  creek  near  the  edge  of  the  Sangre 
de  Cristo  Range,  some  of  the  soldiers  got  their 
feet  wet.  That  night  was  bitter  cold,  the  ther- 
mometer being  18^°  below  zero.  In  the  morning 
two  of  the  men  were  unable  to  walk,  so  badly 
frostbitten  were  their  feet.  The  poor  fellows  were 
left  behind,  with  a  supply  of  provisions  and  ammu- 
nition, while  the  others  continued  on  their  itinerary. 
"We  parted,  but  not  without  tears,"  says  Pike. 
He  urged  the  two  men  to  hold  out  bravely,  and 
promised  to  send  relief  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  weak- 
ened soldiers  continued  the  march.  They  floun- 
dered in  the  snow  and  had  to  lean  upon  stout  walk- 
ing-sticks. Two  of  the  party  could  not  bear  their 


PIKE  65 

packs,  and  the  burdens  were  divided  among  the 
others.  A  blinding-  snowstorm  overtook  them,  and 
they  had  nothing  to  eat.  They  were  now  in  a  des- 
perate plight.  With  death  staring  them  in  the 
face,  the  leader  was  discouraged  for  the  first  time 
in  the  expedition. 

Still  they  kept  on.  One  private  while  toiling 
through  the  snow  said  it  was  "more  than  human 
nature  could  bear  to  march  three  days  without 
sustenance,  through  snows  three  feet  deep,  and 
carry  burdens  only  fit  for  horses."  The  captain 
allowed  this  complaint  to  pass  unnoticed  for  the 
moment,  but  after  the  hunters  had  slain  a  buffalo 
and  the  company  had  "feasted  sumptuously,"  he 
gave  the  lad  a  severe  reprimand. 

Another  lad,  Hugh  Menaugh,  was  utterly  ex- 
hausted by  the  fearful  march  and  was  left  behind. 
The  remaining  eleven  adventurers  dragged  them- 
selves across  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Range.  On 
January  28  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  strike  a 
brook  flowing  westward.  They  followed  the  stream, 
whose  course  ran  through  the  Sand  Hill  Pass. 
More  dead  than  alive,  they  emerged  into  the  San 
Luis  valley. 

The  worst  was  now  over.  Proceeding  by  easy 
stages  along  the  base  of  Sierra  Blanca,  Pike  came 
to  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  near  the  present  site 
of  Alamosa.  Going  down  a  stream  which  he 


66  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

supposed  to  be  Red  River,  he  camped  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Rio  Conejos  and  erected  a  stockade 
of  cottonwood  logs.  Pike's  journeyings  in  Louis- 
iana Territory  were  at  an  end;  he  was  now  on 
Spanish  soil. 

On  February  7  Dr.  Robinson  set  out  alone,  on 
foot,  for  Santa  Fe.  Ostensibly,  his  object  was  to 
collect  a  merchant's  account;  in  reality,  he  was  a 
spy.  The  Spaniards  so  considered  him,  and  not 
long  afterward  they  sent  dragoons  to  arrest  the 
American  explorers,  whom  they  looked  upon  as 
invaders.  Pike  was  treated  with  consideration, 
yet  he  was  a  prisoner.  The  ragged  men  made  a 
sorry  appearance  when  presented  to  the  governor 
at  Santa  Fe.  Pike  was  questioned,  and  then  es- 
corted to  the  city  of  Chihuahua  for  further  exam- 
ination by  General  Salcedo,  who  seized  his  jour- 
nals. He  was  forbidden  to  write  notes,  but  he 
managed  to  keep  a  secret  record,  concealing  his 
papers  in  the  gun  barrels  of  his  soldiers.  His 
Mexican  tour  lasted  four  months.  On  July  1, 
1807,  he  found  himself  at  Natchitoches  in  Louis- 
iana. Six  years  afterward  he  met  a  soldier's 
death,  leading  the  assault  on  York  (now  Toronto), 
Canada. 

A  squad  of  Spanish  cavalry  was  despatched  for 
the  poor  fellows  who  had  been  left  behind.  Some 
of  them  were  crippled  for  life.  Several  members 


PIKE  67 

of  the  expedition  accompanied  Pike  through  Texas ; 
a  number  were  detained  for  a  while  in  Mexico. 
Eventually  they  were  all  returned  to  the  United 
States.  Their  names  are  worthy  of  remembrance. 
Besides  Dr.  Robinson  and  Interpreter  Vasquez,  the 
party  included  Sergeant  William  E.  Meek,  Corporal 
Jeremiah  R.  Jackson,  and  eleven  privates:  John 
Brown,  Jacob  Carter,  Thomas  Dougherty,  William 
Gordon,  Hugh  Menaugh,  Theodore  Miller,  John 
Mount  joy,  Alexander  Roy,  Patrick  Smith,  John 
Sparks,  and  Freegifte  Stouk. 

In  September,  1906,  a  centennial  celebration  of 
the  discovery  of  Pike's  Peak  was  held  at  Colorado 
Springs.  In  Antlers  Park  of  that  city  a  massive 
boulder  from  the  peak  that  bears  his  name  was 
placed  as  a  fitting  monument  to  commemorate  the 
achievements  of  the  illustrious  explorer. 

By  a  rare  piece  of  good  fortune,  a  century  after 
Pike's  detention  among  the  Spaniards  his  letters 
and  journals  were  discovered  among  some  old 
papers  in  the  archives  of  Chihuahua. 


CHAPTER  IV 

LONG 

OTHER  adventurous  spirits  followed  Pike  across 
the  plains  and  through  the  mountains.  They  felt 
the  lure  of  the  wilds,  and  roughed  it  with  grizzlies 
and  savages.  They  hunted  and  trapped;  they 
traded  with  Indians,  and  some  of  them  were 
scalped  by  Indians.  So  the  knowledge  of  the  West 
grew  from  more  to  more. 

But  there  was  a  curiosity  to  learn  more  of  the 
animal  and  vegetable  life  of  the  plains  and  moun- 
tains. The  publication  of  Pike's  journal  served 
only  to  increase  the  desire  for  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  the  natives.  So  the  expedition  under 
Stephen  H.  Long  was  organized  in  1819,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  John  C.  Calhoun, 
who  wished  to  learn  something  of  the  resources  of 
Louisiana,  especially  its  agricultural  possibilities. 
The  objects  in  view  were  to  explore  the  Missouri 
and  other  rivers  in  the  territory  beyond  the  Miss- 
issippi, to  make  scientific  researches,  and  to  ascer- 
tain the  number  and  character  of  the  tribes  of 
savages. 

The  exploring  party  set  out  from  Pittsburgh  on 


May  5,  1819.  Besides  the  crew  of  the  United 
States  steamboat  on  which  the  party  sailed,  there 
were  nine  members  of  the  expedition — Major  Long, 
Major  Biddle,  Lieutenant  Graham,  Cadet  Swift, 
four  naturalists,  and  one  painter. 

After  a  leisurely  voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  up 
the  Mississippi,  they  landed  at  St.  Louis.  From 
this  outfitting  point  they  took  their  departure  on 
June  21,  sailing  up  the  turbid  Missouri.  At  Fort 
Osage  a  detachment  left  the  main  party  and  made 
an  overland  trip  through  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
visiting  the  encampments  of  various  Indian  nations. 
The  others  moved  up  the  river  in  the  steamboat  to 
old  Council  Bluffs,  where  they  established  them- 
selves in  winter  quarters.  In  the  winter  they  held 
councils  with  the  Pawnees,  Sioux,  Omahas,  and 
other  bands  of  red  men. 

Major  Long  being  absent  in  the  East,  the  ex- 
pedition did  not  proceed  until  June  6,  1820.  The 
company  of  explorers  then  consisted  of  a  score,  in- 
cluding six  privates  of  the  army — a  larger  party 
than  Pike's,  and  better  equipped  for  the  work  be- 
fore them.  They  expected  to  have  trouble  with 
redskins,  and  every  man  was  armed  to  the  teeth. 
The  soldiers  had  rifles,  and  the  others  were  pro- 
vided with  either  rifles  or  muskets;  most  of  the 
party  had  pistols,  and  they  all  carried  tomahawks 
and  long  knives  suspended  at  their  belts. 


70  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  explorers  were  mounted  on  horses  and 
mules,  and  there  were  eight  pack-horses  loaded  with 
baggage.  They  took  a  large  supply  of  provisions, 
ammunition,  instruments  and  presents  for  the 
Indians.  The  latter  articles  were  beads,  trinkets, 
notions,  vermilion,  and  tobacco,  with  which  to 
purchase  the  good  will  of  savages  encountered. 

On  the  march  across  the  plains,  the  cavalcade 
stopped  at  the  Pawnee  village  in  Nebraska. 

"Your  heart  must  be  strong,"  said  a  chief,  "to 
go  upon  so  hazardous  a  journey.  May  the  Master 
of  Life  be  your  protector  !" 

He  added  that  he  would  tell  his  young  men,  who 
were  going  on  the  warpath,  to  smoke  the  peace  pipe 
with  them. 

Here  Major  Long  engaged  two  Frenchmen  re- 
siding among  the  Pawnees  to  accompany  the  ex- 
pedition as  guides.  Both  had  been  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas,  hunting  and 
trapping  beaver. 

A  ride  of  twenty-five  miles  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion brought  the  party  to  the  Platte.  On  the  way 
they  passed  several  communities  of  prairie  dogs. 
They  found  traces  of  immense  herds  of  buffalo, 
but  the  animals  had  lately  left  for  fresh  pastures. 
Only  a  solitary  bison  was  seen,  and  four  horsemen 
gave  chase  without  overtaking  it.  Antelope  were 
numerous,  but  the  wary  creatures  took  to  flight 


LONG  71 

and  outdistanced  the  fastest  horses.  However,  two 
pronghorns  were  secured  by  strategy. 

The  antelope  possesses  an  unconquerable  in- 
quisitiveness,  of  which  the  hunter  takes  advan- 
tage. The  man  lies  down  on  the  ground  and  raises 
a  cap  or  handkerchief  on  a  ramrod.  The  animal 
sees  this  strange  object,  and  approaches,  waver- 
ing between  fear  and  curiosity,  until  near  enough 
to  be  shot. 

On  the  explorers  went,  westward  up  the  Platte. 
In  the  middle  of  the  day  the  heat  was  so  intense 
that  they  halted  and  pitched  their  tents  for  shelter 
from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  At  night  the 
horses  were  tethered  out  to  feed  on  the  grass,  and  a 
cordon  of  sentries  were  on  duty  to  guard  against 
the  attacks  and  depredations  of  any  redskins  that 
might  be  skulking  in  the  vicinity. 

At  a  point  about  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
Missouri  the  party  encamped  on  a  spot  where  a 
battle  had  been  fought,  or  there  had  been  a  mas- 
sacre. The  ground  was  strewn  with  bones,  and 
the  men  picked  up  a  number  of  human  skulls. 

The  explorers  found  the  scenery  rather  monoto- 
nous in  the  Platte  country.  Beyond  the  ranges 
of  gravelly  hills  on  both  sides  of  the  bottom  lands 
were  extended  plains  having  an  elevation  of  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  above  the  river  and  "pre- 
senting the  aspect  of  hopeless  and  irreclaimable 


72  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

sterility."  The  wide,  shallow  stream  was  studded 
with  green  islands,  on  which  grew  willows,  cotton- 
woods,  and  other  underbrush.  No  forests  \vere 
to  be  seen  anywhere,  and  the  grass  was  parched. 
In  the  report  of  the  expedition  we  read:  "The 
monotony  of  a  vast  unbroken  plain,  like  that  in 
which  we  had  now  traveled  nearly  one  hundred 
fifty  miles,  is  little  less  tiresome  to  the  eye  and  fa- 
tiguing to  the  spirit  than  the  dreary  solitude  of  the 


ocean." 


A  thunder  storm  came  up  and  revived  the  droop- 
ing plants  along  the  way.  On  the  following  day 
the  cavalcade  moved  over  a  flower-dotted  prairie. 
The  supply  of  fresh  meat  being  low,  several  hunt- 
ing-parties were  sent  out  in  different  directions  to 
search  for  game.  The  hunters  killed  one  bison, 
two  antelopes,  and  a  hare.  During  the  night  some 
thin  strips  of  steak  were  dried  over  a  slow  fire. 
Jerked  buffalo  was  henceforth  a  staple  article  of 
food  and  much  prized. 

On  coming  to  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  the  ex- 
plorers found  timber  more  abundant.  Some  of  the 
men  out  hunting  observed  three  beavers  cutting 
down  a  large  cottonwood.  When  the  tree  was 
nearly  ready  to  fall,  one  of  the  animals  swram  out 
into  the  river  a  little  way  and  gazed  intently  at  the 
top.  Seeing  it  begin  to  sway,  he  gave  warning  to 
the  other  two,  which  were  still  gnawing  away  at  the 


LONG 


cottonwood,  by  slapping  his  tail  upon  the  surface 
of  the  water,  ami  they  hastily  ran  from  the  falling- 
tree. 

After  fording  the  north  fork  of  the  Platte,  the  par- 
ty ascended 
a  high  swell 
of  ground 
and  were  as- 
tonished to 
find  the 
broad  ex- 
panse of  ta- 
bleland alive 
with  buffalo. 
At  least  ten 
thousand 
burst  on  their 
sigh  tin  an  in- 
stant. The 
scene  was  a 
lively  one. 
Some  of  the 
bulls  were 

rolling  their  massive  forms  on  the  soft  earth,  while 
others  were  pawing  the  dust  into  the  air.  Here 
and  there  two  bison  could  be  seen  engaged  in  com- 
bat, either  in  sport  or  in  dead  earnest.  Some 
individuals  were  going  to  their  drinking -place. 


A  BUFFALO  OF  THE  PLAINS 


74  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  explorers  enjoyed  the  novel  spectacle  till  dusk 
and  retired.  In  the  morning  not  one  of  the  noble 
animals  was  to  be  seen. 

Proceeding  on  their  way  up  the  South  Platte,  the 
explorers  noticed  that  the  valley  above  the  forks 
became  more  narrow  and  the  hills  more  abrupt. 
Viewed  from  the  river  bottom,  the  landscape 
seemed  like  a  transcript  of  Alpine  scenery,  on  a 
small  scale. 

They  had  no  sooner  crossed  to  the  south  bank 
than  they  observed  the  beautiful  white  primrose 
peeping  from  the  grass  and  prickly  pears  growing  in 
profusion.  Along  the  river  they  saw  some  dead 
trees  in  which,  resting  on  the  top  of  the  trunks,  were 
the  nests  of  bald  eagles. 

As  they  journeyed  farther  up  stream,  they  found 
blacktails  and  pronghorns  plentiful.  They  could 
see  vast  herds  of  bison,  blackening  the  surface  of 
the  country.  The  officers  of  the  expedition  re- 
strained the  delighted  hunters  from  slaughtering 
more  wild  game  than  they  needed  for  food.  The 
men  picked  out  the  fattest  cows,  and  preferred 
their  flesh  to  that  of  elk  and  deer.  The  fat  of  bison 
they  declared  to  be  richer  and  sweeter  than  that  of 
the  ox. 

"We  found,"  the  report  says,  "a  constant 
source  of  amusement  in  observing  the  unsightly 
figure,  the  cumbrous  gait,  and  impolitic  movements 


LONG  7f) 

of  the  bison ;  we  were  often  delighted  by  the  beauty 
and  fleetness  of  the  antelope,  and  the  social  com- 
fort and  neatness  of  the  prairie  dog." 

While  the  explorers  were  crossing  extensive  tracts 
of  naked  sand,  the  intense  reflection  of  light  and 
heat  made  their  eyes  sore.  The  brilliant  sunshine 
and  the  rare  atmosphere  produced  a  distorted 
vision,  so  that  they  often  supposed  antelopes  in  the 
distance  to  be  mounted  Indians.  There  were 
other  effects  of  mirage,  such  as  the  looming  of 
wolves  to  the  proportions  of  horses,  or  bison  seem- 
ing to  stand  in  a  glassy  pool  of  water  that  was  only 
vapor  rising  from  the  plain. 

One  day,  when  they  were  not  far  from  Fort 
Morgan,  the  party  passed  through  a  dreary  plain 
of  coarse  sand,  where  the  cactus  reigned  sole 
monarch.  In  the  transparent  air  the  planet  Venus 
was  distinctly  visible  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. It  was  near  the  zenith  in  a  clear  sky  of  a 
deep  and  beautiful  azure. 

On  the  morning  of  June  30  they  were  cheered  by 
a  distant  view  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  For  some 
time  the  travelers  were  uncertain  whether  they  saw 
snow-capped  mountains  or  banks  of  cumulus 
clouds  glittering  in  the  sun's  rays.  In  the  evening 
the  grand  outlines  of  the  Front  Range  were  im- 
printed in  rugged  contour  upon  the  luminous  mar- 
gin of  the  sky.  The  most  prominent  peak  in  sight 


70  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

was   the   one   that  has  been   named   in    honor   of 
Long. 

There  was  little  vegetation  in  the  plain  through 
which  the  party  passed;  acres  and  acres  appeared 
to  be  almost  barren,  with  the  least  shade  of  green, 
the  sunflowers  and  grasses  being  now  entirely 
withered  and  brown.  Countless  ant-heaps  rose 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  above  the  level  sur- 
face, all  having  a  uniform  reddish  aspect. 

The  ensuing  day  the  party  traveled  twenty-seven 
miles  directly  toward  the  base  of  the  mountains, 
which  toward  evening  appeared  to  be  no  nearer  than 
in  the  morning.  The  range  stretched  from  north 
to  south  like  an  immense  wall,  occupying  all  that 
portion  of  the  horizon  lying  to  the  northwest,  w^est, 
and  southwest.  The  course  of  the  travelers  now 
inclined  to  the  south,  from  the  point  where  the 
Cache  a  la  Poudre  empties  into  the  Platte. 

On  July  2  a  heavy  rain  fell  in  the  afternoon,  and 
the  temperature  dropped  from  89°  at  noon  to  60° 
at  sunset. 

The  party  hoped  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  3u\y 
on  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  they  supposed  to 
be  only  about  twenty  miles  away.  On  the  fifth 
day  they  camped  near  the  mouth  of  Vermilion 
Creek,  which  is  probably  the  Cherry  Creek  of 
to-day.  Dr.  Edwin  James  with  three  companions 
waded  the  river  and  set  out  with  high  hopes  of 


LONG  77 

walking  to  the  mountains  before  noon.  The  rocky 
battlements  of  the  foothills  appeared  to  the  travelers 
about  five  miles  distant.  To  them  belongs  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  white  men  to  traverse  the 
present  site  of  Denver;  at  least,  they  were  the  first 
who  left  any  definite  record  of  their  rovings  near 
the  place  where  the  city  now  stands. 

James  and  his  party  walked  nearly  eight  miles, 
and  the  mountains  seemed  to  be  almost  as  far  off 
as  when  they  started.  They  had  neglected  to  take 
any  dinner  with  them,  and  found  themselves  tired 
and  faint.  Giving  up  the  idea  of  reaching  the 
peaks,  they  wrheeled  about  and  started  back  toward 
the  encampment.  On  the  wray  one  of  them  shot 
two  curlews,  and  without  loss  of  time  the  hungry 
men  roasted  the  birds  and  devoured  them. 

Moving  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  Major 
Long  and  his  party  marched  to  the  head  of  Platte 
Canon.  The  Platte  was  here  about  four  feet 
deep  and  the  current  exceedingly  swift.  One 
man  wrho  ventured  in  was  quickly  swept  off  his 
feet  in  the  rocky  bed  of  the  river.  With  a  rope  in 
his  teeth,  a  soldier  swram  the  foaming  stream.  One 
end  of  the  line  was  made  fast  on  one  bank,  and 
the  other  on  the  opposite  side.  Even  with  this 
aid  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty  that  the  men  in 
crossing  kept  their  feet,  in  the  swirling  eddies.  Soon 
after  sunrise  the  detachment  were  all  safely  landed 


78  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

on  the  west  side  of  the  stream.  Once  across  the 
sandstone  hogback,  they  plunged  into  the  hills  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains. 

Deceived  by  the  apparent  nearness  of  the  Front 
Range,  they  expected  to  be  able  to  climb  the  most 
lofty  pinnacles  and  return  the  same  day.  Having 
separated  into  two  parties,  a  number  started  in 
the  direction  where  Mount  Evans  stands,  ringed 
by  the  azure  world,  with  its  crown  of  snow 
gleaming  in  unsullied  whiteness.  At  nightfall 
they  found  themselves  scarcely  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain. 

The  design  of  the  party  had  been  to  cross  the 
first  range  of  mountains  and  gain  the  valley  of  the 
Platte  beyond,  but  this  they  were  unable  to  ac- 
complish. After  climbing  successively  to  the  sum- 
mit of  several  ridges,  which  they  had  supposed  to 
be  the  top  of  the  mountain,  they  still  found  others 
beyond  higher  and  more  rugged.  They  therefore 
relinquished  the  intention  of  crossing  and  began 
to  look  for  the  best  way  to  descend  to  the  bed  of  the 
river,  which  lay  on  their  left  hand.  Here  they 
halted  to  rest  for  a  few  moments,  and  exposed  a 
thermometer  in  the  shade  of  a  large  rock.  The 
mercury  fell  to  72°;  in  camp,  at  the  same  hour,  it 
stood  at  86°.  They  were  so  much  elevated  above 
the  river  that,  although  they  could  see  it  plainly, 
it  appeared  like  a  small  brook  of  two  or  three  yards 


LONG  79 

in  width,  white  with  foam  and  spray  caused  by  the 
impetuosity  of  its  current  and  the  roughness  of  its 
channel.  They  could  distinguish  two  principal 
branches  of  the  Platte,  one  coming  from  the  north- 
west, the  other  from  the  so'uth.  A  little  below  the 
confluence  of  these  branches  the  river  turns  ab- 
ruptly to  the  southeast,  bursting  through  a  chasm 
in  a  vast  mural  precipice  of  naked  columnar 
rocks. 

About  noon  the  party  abandoned  all  expectation 
of  gaining  the  mountain-top,  and  they  began  the 
descent,  which  they  found  fully  as  fatiguing  as  the 
upward  climb  had  been.  They  took  a  route 
toward  the  river,  hoping  to  travel  along  its  bed. 
So  steep  was  its  declivity  that  they  were  often 
obliged  to  lower  one  another  down  precipices. 

Clambering  over  the  rocks  sharpened  their  ap- 
petites, but  they  were  too  thirsty  to  eat.  There  wras 
no  \vater  on  that  part  of  the  mountain,  and  they 
really  suffered  for  want  of  it.  Several  men  par- 
took of  some  ripe  currants  growing  on  the  slope; 
these,  being  juiceless,  only  aggravated  their  thirst 
and  caused  a  violent  headache.  A  few  delicious 
raspberries  were  found  and  eaten. 

After  crossing  a  long  and  rugged  tract  that  was 
rendered  almost  impassable  by  boulders  and  frag- 
ments fallen  from  above,  the  panting  men  came 
at  length  to  a  spring  of  cold  water.  In  the  shade 


SO  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

of  a  narrow  ravine  they  sat  down  to  rest  and  dine 
on  the  few  scraps  of  food  left. 

Here  one  of  the  party  was  taken  sick  and  could 
not  stand.  A  companion  set  out  alone  for  camp, 
to  get  medicine.  On  reaching  camp  late  in  the 
afternoon,  he  found  several  others  of  the  mountain- 
climbers  who  were  ill,  though  not  disabled.  Mean- 
while the  sick  man  rallied  arid  was  able  to  walk  a 
little.  Assisted  by  his  comrades,  he  trudged  slowly 
down  the  incline  and  reached  camp  at  a  late  hour  of 
the  night.  The  relief  party  sought  for  him  in  vain. 

Two  others  of  the  expedition  entered  the  moun- 
tains on  the  south  side  of  the  fork  and  scaled  a 
steep  height,  only  to  find  their  horizon  bounded  by 
another  towering  majestically  above  them.  Fac- 
ing about,  they  contemplated  with  admiration  a 
panorama  of  beauty  and  sublimity.  Far  to  the 
east  the  interminable  prairie  stretched  out  like  a 
map,  threaded  by  the  meandering  rivers  and  creeks. 

Together  again,  the  exploring  party  resumed 
their  journey  on  the  9th,  traveling  up  Plum  Creek, 
across  which  some  beavers  had  built  dams  of 
willows  and  cottonwoods.  In  their  wanderings 
a  detachment  came  to  enormous  masses  of  sand- 
stone, which  appeared  to  be  the  colossal  ruins  of  a 
castle,  with  columns,  porticoes  and  arches. 

Thence  they  passed  on  to  the  ridge  dividing  the 
waters  of  the  Platte  from  those  of  the  Arkansas. 


LONG  81 

On  the  Divide  they  gathered  specimens  of  the 
purple  columbine,  which  has  since  become  the 
state  flower  of  Colorado.  Till  then  the  existence 
of  this  splendid  flower  among  the  flora  of  the 
United  States  was  not  known. 

Pursuing  a  bison  trail  for  some  distance  the  ex- 
plorers first  observed  clusters  of  shrubby  cactus 
growing  to  a  height  of  six  or  eight  feet.  The  sur- 
face of  the  plant  was  covered  with  a  terrific  ar- 
mature of  thorns  and  spines,  and  its  branches  bore 
purple  flowers. 

Their  course  now  led  the  company  down  Monu- 
ment Creek.  Advancing  through  romantic  scenery, 
they  traversed  the  present  site  of  Colorado  Springs. 
Major  Long,  with  the  main  body  of  the  expedition, 
camped  by  the  Fontaine  Qui  Bouille,  while  Dr. 
James,  with  several  men,  left  for  a  three  days'  ex- 
cursion to  Pike's  Peak.  The  detachment  camped 
near  the  boiling  spring  of  Manitou.  In  the  bottom 
of  the  mineral  springs  that  they  discovered  were 
beads  and  other  ornaments  which  the  red  men 
had  thrown  in  as  presents  and  sacrifices  to  the 
Great  Manitou,  whom  they  worshiped. 

On  the  afternoon  of  July  13,  James,  with  three 
companions,  set  out  to  surmount  the  peak  that 
had  proved  the  despair  of  Captain  Pike.  The* 
French  guide  assured  him  that  though  many  at- 
tempts had  been  made  by  Indians  and  hunters  to 


v32  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

climb  to  the  top,  none  had  ever  proved  successful. 
Each  man  carried  a  blanket,  ten  or  twelve  pounds 
of  bison  meat,  three  grills  of  parched  cornmeal, 
and  a  small  kettle. 

The    ascent    was    extremely    difficult,    and    the 
climbers  were  many  times  fearful  of  being  hurled 


TIMBER  LINE,  PIKE'S  PEAK 

over  precipices.  Night  overtook  them  as  they 
toiled  up  the  mountainside.  At  the  point  at  which 
they  halted  the  ground  was  so  slanting  that  they 
placed  a  pole  against  two  trees  to  prevent  them, 
while  they  slept,  from  rolling  down  into  the  brook 
in  the  ravine. 


LONG  83 

At  daybreak  they  continued  the  ascent,  leaving 
their  coats  and  blankets  hanging  in  a  tree.  As 
the  forenoon  wore  away  with  the  height  still  far 
beyond  them  the  men  realized  the  impossibility  of 
scaling  it  and  returning  to  their  camp  that  day. 
But  they  resolved  to  keep  on  and  to  spend  the  night 
wherever  darkness  overtook  them. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  gained  the 
pinnacle.  Dr.  James  found  it  not  a  cone  but  an 
area  of  ten  or  fifteen  acres  of  uneven  ground,  with 
patches  of  snow  and  ice  between  the  rocks.  The 
mercury  sank  to  42°  on  the  summit,  while  in  the 
encampment  it  was  96°  at  noon. 

"From  the  summit  of  the  peak,"  James  writes, 
"the  view  toward  the  north,  west  and  southwest  is 
diversified  with  innumerable  mountains,  all  white 
with  snow ;  and  on  some  of  the  more  distant  it  ap- 
pears to  extend  down  to  their  bases.  .  .  .  To  the 
east  lay  the  great  plain,  rising  as  it  receded  until 
in  the  distant  horizon  it  appeared  to  mingle  with 
the  sky." 

There  is  now  a  government  trail  leading  from 
Manitou  to  the  top  of  the  peak,  a  distance  of  ten 
miles.  It  is  steady  upgrade,  an  average  of  eight 
hundred  feet  to  the  mile.  Those  who  on  foot  have 
climbed  up  the  trail  to  the  summit  can  appreciate 
the  feat  of  endurance  on  the  part  of  James  and  his 
comrades.  In  honor  of  his  achievement  Major 


84  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Long  called  the  mountain  James's  Peak,  and  for 
many  years  it  was  so  known.  Another  moun- 
tain in  the  Front  Range  now  bears  the  name  of  the 
intrepid  explorer  who  first  scaled  the  topmost  crag 
of  this  grand  peak.  As  early  as  1840  Pike's  Peak 
was  so  christened  by  trappers  and  plainsmen,  and 
this  name  gradually  supplanted  that  given  it  by 
Long.  In  1890  a  rack  and  pinion  railroad  was 
completed  by  which  passengers  are  carried  up 
without  fatigue  or  suffering. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  July  14 
Dr.  James  and  his  men  began  the  descent,  and  had 
not  gone  far  below  the  timber  line  when  night  was 
upon  them.  They  were  no\v  in  imminent  danger 
of  falling  over  precipices  if  they  proceeded  in  the 
dark,  so  they  halted  on  the  first  spot  of  level  ground 
they  reached.  Hungry  and  weary,  they  laid  them- 
selves down  to  sleep,  after  kindling  a  fire.  The 
night  was  freezing  cold,  and  they  missed  their 
blankets. 

They  were  up  at  the  first  flush  of  dawn  and  had 
traveled  three  hours  when  they  saw  a  dense  col- 
umn of  smoke  rising  from  the  ravine  where  they 
had  first  camped.  They  had  not  put  out  their 
fire,  and  it  had  spread  over  several  acres.  Reach- 
ing the  spot,  they  found  that  their  clothes  and 
blankets  had  been  burnt  up  and  the  few  fragments 
of  bison  meat  left  of  their  supplies  had  been  half 


LONG  85 

consumed.  They  broke  their  long  fast  and  then 
continued  the  descent,  arriving  at  the  boiling  spring 
a  little  after  noon. 

Here  they  drank  freely  of  the  exhilarating  waters 
and  ate  a  substantial  dinner  of  venison.  At  night- 
fall the  detachment  rejoined  the  main  party's  en- 
campment on  Fountain  Creek.  In  the  vicinity  a 
small  owl  was  captured  in  a  burrow  dug  either  by 
itself  or  by  a  prairie  dog.  Not  far  away  a  hunter 
shot  a  grizzly  bear  without  killing  it.  Afterward 
they  found  grizzlies  far  out  on  the  plains. 

The  cavalcade  got  in  motion  on  July  16  and  rode 
twenty-eight  miles  without  dismounting  from  their 
horses.  It  was  a  calm,  sultry  day,  the  temperature 
ranging  from  90°  to  100°  in  the  shade.  There  was 
not  a  drop  of  water  in  any  of  the  ravines  that  they 
traversed,  and  they  suffered  greatly  from  the  heat 
and  from  thirst.  Late  in  the  afternoon  they  arrived 
at  the  precipice  that  divides  the  barren  plain  from 
the  valley  of  the  "Arkansaw,"  as  Long  spelled  it. 

Winding  their  way  down  to  the  meeting  of  Foun- 
tain Creek  and  the  Arkansas,  they  camped  within 
the  present  limits  of  Pueblo.  They  sought  in  vain 
for  any  traces  of  the  cottonwood  stockade  erected 
by  Pike's  party  in  November,  1806. 

The  folk-wing  day  Captain  Bell,  with  a  small 
party,  ascended  the  Arkansas  to  the  mountains, 
where  they  found  several  mineral  springs  near  the 


8G  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

present  site  of  Canon  City.  These  have  received 
the  name  of  Bell's  Springs.  Here  the  exhausted 
men  lay  down  to  sleep  under  the  open  sky. 

In  the  morning  they  made  an  excursion  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Royal  Gorge,  then  designated  in 
the  language  of  hunters  as  "the  place  where  the  Ar- 
kansas comes  out  of  the  mountains."  There  is 
no  record  of  their  finding  the  wooden  breastwork 
that  was  erected  near  here  by  Pike's  soldiers. 

They  reported  the  upper  Arkansas  valley,  now 
famous  for  gardening  and  fruit-growing,  as  having 
"a  meager  and  gravelly  soil."  "Above  the  rocky 
bluffs  on  each  side,"  the  account  says,  "spreads  a 
dreary  expanse  of  almost  naked  sand,  intermixed 
with  clay  enough  to  prevent  its  drifting  with  the 
wind,  but  not  enough  to  give  it  fertility.  It  is  arid 
and  sterile,  bearing  only  a  few  dwarfish  cedars,  and 
must  forever  remain  desolate." 

Major  Long  now  thought  it  necessary  for  the  ex- 
pedition to  return.  For  some  time  they  had  been 
on  short  rations.  The  supply  of  sea  biscuit  that 
they  had  taken  with  them  was  nearly  gone,  and  but 
a  small  quantity  of  parched  maize  remained.  They 
had  used  up  all  the  salt,  and  the  little  sugar,  tea  and 
coffee  left  were  reserved  for  hospital  supplies.  The 
explorers  were  at  times  in  sore  straits  for  food. 
They  were  obliged  to  depend  upon  hunting  for 
subsistence,  and  game  was  scarce  about  the  moun- 


LONG  87 

tains.  Much  as  they  longed  to  explore  the  Rockies, 
an  immediate  departure  was  necessary. 

On  July  19  the  travelers  headed  their  horses 
toward  the  rising  sun.  Regretfully  they  turned 
their  backs  on  Pike's  Peak,  whose  snowy  crest  was 
visible  ten  days  later  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
thirty  miles. 

Before  reaching  the  Colorado  line  the  party  was 
divided,  Captain  Bell  with  eleven  men  going  down 
the  Arkansas,  while  Major  Long  with  nine  men 
struck  across  the  country  southward  in  search  of 
the  Red  River  that  Captain  Pike  had  failed  to  find. 

It  was  a  long,  tedious  journey  through  New 
Mexico  to  the  Canadian  River,  and  thence  eastward 
to  Fort  Smith  in  western  Arkansas,  where  they 
arrived  on  September  13,  1820.  Captain  Bell's 
party,  after  many  mishaps  and  sufferings,  had 
reached  this  rendezvous  before  them.  Here  the 
half-famished  explorers  rested  and  recuperated  be- 
fore proceeding  on  their  way  to  the  States. 

During  an  itinerary  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
miles  on  the  plains  they  had  never  once  heard  the 
dreaded  whoop  of  the  Indian  foe.  Fortunately 
for  them,  the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas  and 
other  bands  of  savages  were  absent  from  their 
usual  haunts,  on  a  warlike  expedition  in  the  South. 


CHAPTER  V 

FREMONT 

LONG  did  not  penetrate  the  mountains;  his  ex- 
ploring party  only  skirted  the  base  of  the  Front 
Range.  To  John  Charles  Fremont  belongs  the 
credit  of  leading  several  expeditions  through  the 
Rockies  and  making  known  routes  of  travel  which 
might  be  followed  by  emigrants  journeying  from 
the  plains  to  the  coast.  Because  of  these  eminent 
services  he  has  been  called  the  "Pathfinder." 

Lieutenant  Fremont,  afterward  captain  and 
colonel,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  characters 
figuring  in  the  romantic  annals  of  Rocky  Moun- 
tain exploration.  He  was  undaunted  by  perils,  and 
recked  little  of  hardships  and  privations.  He 
found  the  keenest  enjoyment  in  the  free  life  of  the 
explorer.  He  was  impressed  by  the  majesty  of 
the  mountains,  and  the  excitement  of  danger  added 
zest  to  the  rough  experiences  through  which  he 
passed. 

For  a  third  of  a  century  trappers  had  wandered 
through  the  chains  of  the  Rockies  in  search  of 
beaver  streams,  taking  little  interest  in  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  mountain  region.  Fremont  crossed 

88 


FREMONT  89 

the  ranges,  explored  the  passes,  and  voyaged 
through  one  of  the  canons.  It  was  his  privilege  to 
give  names  to  a  number  of  the  lakes,  streams, 
ridges,  defiles,  and  other  striking  features  of  the 
country  traversed  by  him.  He  brought  back 
plants  growing  on  the  Continental  Divide,  and  the 
reports  of  his  explorations  gave  to  Americans  an 
enlarged  knowledge  of  the  western  world. 

Before  Fremont's  expeditions  this  far  western 
coifntry  was  a  land  of  wonders  and  mysteries;  the 
vague  reports  of  Indians  and  the  tales  of  earlier 
voyageurs  gave  rise  to  extravagant  notions  concern- 
ing it.  These  enterprises  were  set  on  foot  to  clear 
up  some  of  the  mystery  of  the  unmapped  wilder- 
ness. While  on  his  explorations  Fremont  was 
accompanied  by  frontiersmen  who  were  acquainted 
with  the  country,  and  he  carried  a  set  of  scientific 
instruments  with  which  to  take  bearings  and  to 
measure  the  elevations  of  the  mountains.  In  his 
second  expedition  he  traveled  over  the  great  in- 
terior basin  between  the  Sierras  and  the  western 
Rockies.  Here  was  a  tract  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  wide  that  was  a  blank  in  geography  until  he 
journeyed  thither  and  described  it.  To  his  hands 
was  committed  the  task  of  opening  the  gates  of  our 
Pacific  empire. 

Fremont's  expeditions  were  not  merely  excur- 
sions of  a  geographer;  they  were  made  in  the  in- 


90  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

terests  of  western  expansion.  The  first  one,  in 
1842,  was  intended  to  pave  the  way  for  emigration 
to  Oregon  Territory.  At  that  time  little  had  been 
done  to  develop  the  vast  section  that  wras  once  a 
part  of  the  dominions  of  France. 

In  1842  a  thousand  adventurers  crossed  the 
prairies  and  wended  their  w^ay  westward  through 
the  mountains.  Some  drove  ox-carts;  others 
took  their  families  and  household  goods  in  covered 
wagons  drawn  by  horses  or  mules.  Braving  the 
perils  and  privations  of  the  wilderness,  they  made 
homes  for  themselves  on  the  Columbia  River  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  Far  West. 

It  was  a  pet  scheme  of  Senator  Thomas  H. 
Benton  of  Missouri  to  make  a  highway  across  the 
continent  and  plant  settlements  along  the  principal 
rivers  from  the  Missouri  to  the  coast.  With 
prophetic  eye  he  saw  a  time  wrhen  argosies  should 
sail  the  Pacific,  bearing  the  rich  commerce  of  Asia 
and  America. 

Lieutenant  Fremont,  w7ho  had  had  experience  in 
surveying  and  mapping  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  wras 
chosen  to  conduct  the  proposed  expedition.  He  wras 
then  in  his  thirtieth  year,  a  man  of  hardy  constitu- 
tion, brave,  and  resourceful  in  danger.  He  had 
married  Miss  Jessie  Benton,  and  it  wras  through 
his  father-in-law's  influence  that  he  secured  the 
coveted  post  of  leader. 


FREMONT  91 

From  St.  Louis  Fremont  and  his  men  sailed  up 
the  Missouri  to  Chouteau's  Landing,  in  eastern 
Kansas;  a  short  stop  was  made,  and  the  final  ar- 
rangements for  the  expedition  completed.  On 
June  10,  1842,  the  explorers  set  out  westward  to 
cross  the  ocean  of  prairie. 

The  party  consisted  of  twenty-nine  persons- 
most  of  them  Creole  and  Canadian  voyageurs,  who 
had  been  in  the  employ  of  fur  companies  in  the 
West.  Charles  Preuss,  a  topographer,  was  Fre- 
mont's assistant  and  companion.  Lucien  Max- 
well was  hunter,  and  Kit  Carson,  the  hero  of  the 
prairies  and  the  mountains,  was  the  guide  of  the 
expedition.  Two  youths  of  St.  Louis,  Henry  Brant 
and  Randolph  Benton,  accompanied  the  expedition. 

Eight  men  drove  mule  teams;  the  others  were 
mounted  on  horses.  All  were  armed  with  carbines 
or  rifles,  for  the  journey  was  expected  to  be  fully  as 
hazardous  as  Long's. 

It  was  the  leader's  custom  to  halt  the  company 
an  hour  or  two  before  sunset.  The  wagons  were 
disposed  in  a  circle  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  barricade. 
Within  this  area,  some  eighty  yards  in  diameter,  the 
tents  wrere  pitched.  The  horses  and  mules  were 
hobbled  or  picketed  and  turned  loose  to  graze  near 
the  camp.  After  eight  o'clock  a  mounted  guard 
of  three  men  kept  watch,  being  relieved  at  intervals 
of  two  hours. 


92  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

For  several  weeks  the  route  lay  chiefly  along  the 
Kansas  and  Platte  rivers.  The  daily  ride  was 
usually  no  more  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles. 
Clouds  of  bothersome  gnats  followed  the  animals, 
and  mosquitoes  annoyed  the  men.  The  monotony 
of  the  march  was  occasionally  broken  by  the  sight 
of  Indians,  and  bison  in  immense  numbers  swarmed 
over  the  plains.  Fremont  gives  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  the  monarch  of  the  prairies : 

"In  the  sight  of  such  a  mass  of  life,  the  traveler 
feels  a  strange  emotion  of  grandeur.  We  had 
heard  from  a  distance  a  dull  and  confused  murmur- 
ing, and  when  we  came  in  view  of  their  dark 
masses  there  was  not  one  among  us  who  did  not 
feel  his  heart  beat  quicker.  It  was  the  early  part 
of  the  day,  when  the  herds  are  feeding;  and  every- 
where they  were  in  motion.  Here  and  there  a 
huge  old  bull  was  rolling  in  the  grass,  and  clouds 
of  dust  rose  in  the  air  from  various  parts  of  the 
bands,  each  the  scene  of  some  obstinate  fight. 
Indians  and  buffalo  make  the  poetry  and  life 
of  the  prairie,  and  our  camp  was  full  of  their 
exhilaration." 

The  voyageurs  now  had  buffalo  beef  to  their 
heart's  content.  At  any  time  of  the  night  some 
members  of  the  party  might  have  been  seen  roast- 
ing pieces  of  delicate  flesh  on  sticks  around  the  fire, 
and  the  guard  were  never  without  company.  In 


FREMONT  93 

the  darkness  wolves  could  be  heard  barking  and 
howling,  not  far  from  camp. 

In  many  spots  the  prairie  was  yellow  with  sun- 
flowers, and  the  air  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  the 
wild  rose. 

The  national  holiday  was  observed  with  a  feast 
of  fruit-cake,  preserves,  the  choicest  buffalo  meat 
served  in  various  ways,  and  coffee.  Several  Chey- 
ennes  shared  Fremont's  hospitality  and  indulged 
freely  in  "red  fire-water,"  which  made  an  Indian 
lad  drunk. 

On  July  5  the  company  had  reached  a  point  not 
far  from  the  northeast  corner  of  Colorado.  Here 
they  separated,  the  leader  with  Maxwell  and  two 
other  men  going  up  the  South  Platte,  while  Carson 
and  Lambert  with  the  main  party  continued  on  the 
overland  journey  to  Fort  Laramie,  where  Fremont 
wras  to  join  them  about  the  16th.  The  Cheyennes 
decided  to  accompany  the  leader,  as  their  village 
lay  up  the  river. 

On  this  excursion  Fremont  and  his  companions 
set  forth  on  horseback,  with  one  led  horse  and  a 
pack-mule  to  carry  provisions  and  the  slight  bag- 
gage of  the  little  party.  They  took  no  tent;  at 
night  they  rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets  and 
slept  soundly  under  the  stars.  The  red  men  lay 
in  the  grass  near  the  fire.  Fremont's  course  was 
southwest  up  the  Platte  valley,  which  was  thickly 


94  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

dotted  with  bright  blossoms.  He  observed  that 
"flowers  of  deep  warm  colors  seem  most  to  love  the 
sandy  soil."  Like  Long,  he  got  the  impression 
that  the  country  was  dry  and  barren.  Herds 
of  buffalo  and  an  occasional  drove  of  wild  horses 
gave  life  to  the  dreary  landscape.  At  midday  the 
men  found  it  unendurably  hot  and  halted  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  or  sought  the  shade  of  a  wooded 
island.  On  July  7  the  thermometer  stood  at  103° 
in  the  shade. 

On  they  journeyed,  through  the  lowr  and  undu- 
lating country.  One  day  Fremont  noticed  some 
dark-looking  objects  among  the  hills,  which  were 
at  first  supposed  to  be  buffaloes  coming  to  water. 
Soon,  group  after  group  of  Indians  darted  into 
view,  riding  rapidly  toward  them.  The  little  party 
made  for  the  timber,  but  before  they  could  gain  the 
river,  between  two  and  three  hundred  naked  sav- 
ages swooped  down  upon  them.  Fremont  and  his 
men  paused,  with  their  fingers  on  the  triggers  of 
their  guns.  An  encounter  seemed  imminent,  and 
they  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  dearly.  In  a  few 
seconds  the  redskins  who  were  leading  the  charge 
would  have  rolled  in  the  dust.  Just  as  Maxwell 
was  about  to  fire  he  recognized  the  foremost  wrar- 
rior,  and  shouted  to  him  in  the  Indian  tongue: 
"You're  a  fool!  Don't  you  know  me?" 

The  brave  showed  surprise  at  hearing  his  own 


FREMONT  95 

language.  Swerving  his  horse  a  little,  he  passed 
the  white  men  like  an  arrow.  Instantly  Fremont 
wheeled  and  rode  up  to  him,  when  the  savage  gave 
him  his  hand,  exclaiming,  "Arapahoe!" 

Maxwell  had  resided  as  a  trader  among  the 
Arapahoes,  and  they  knew  him.  The  chief  said 
he  and  his  men  were  hunting  buffalo,  and  presently 
there  galloped  up,  riding  astride,  a  troop  of  women 
whose  duty  it  was  to  assist  in  cutting  up  the  meat. 
Scores  of  wolflike  dogs  followed. 

Soon  after  this  meeting  between  the  Indians  and 
the  white  men  a  herd  of  buffalo  was  sighted.  Sepa- 
rating into  two  parties,  in  an  extended  line  the 
Arapahoes  bore  down  on  the  bison  and  began  the 
slaughter  with  spears  and  guns.  As  Fremont  rode 
on  toward  their  village,  which  was  near  by,  Indian 
after  Indian  came  dropping  along,  his  pony  laden 
with  meat.  He  found  one  hundred  twenty-five 
lodges  scattered  about  near  the  river.  A  little 
apart  were  twenty  tepees  of  Cheyennes. 

The  white  men  were  hospitably  entertained  by 
the  chiefs,  and  Maxwell  was  given  a  bundle  of 
dried  meat,  a  very  acceptable  present.  Dinner 
over,  their  host,  with  a  red  man's  curiosity,  asked 
the  object  of  their  journey.  Fremont  frankly 
answered  that  he  was  simply  on  a  visit  to  see  the 
country,  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of 
military  posts  on  the  way  to  the  mountains.  This 


96  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

was  a  piece  of  unwelcome  news,  to  which  the 
Indians  listened  with  grave  courtesy.  The  pipe 
was  passed  around,  and  each  man  present  took  a 
whiff  in  silence.  Before  putting  it  in  his  mouth, 
each  sachem  turned  the  stem  upward,  with  a  quick 
glance,  as  in  offering  to  the  Great  Spirit. 

At  dusk  the  whites  set  out  and  rode  three  miles 
up  the  river.  A  fire  was  kindled,  and  they  roasted 
some  buffalo  meat.  Their  camp  that  night  was 
six  or  seven  miles  northeast  of  the  present  site  of 
Brush. 

The  next  day  they  caught  the  first  faint  glimpse 
of  the  Rockies,  about  one  hundred  miles  distant. 
There  was  a  slight  mist  in  the  morning,  and  they 
could  just  make  out  the  snowy  summit  of  Long's 
Peak,  which  appeared  like  a  small  cloud  near  the 
horizon.  "I  was  pleased,"  says  Fremont,  "to  find 
that  among  the  traders  the  name  of  'Long's  Peak' 
had  been  adopted  and  become  familiar  in  the 
country." 

For  a  considerable  distance  Fremont  had  trav- 
ersed Long's  route  near  the  river — the  route  after- 
ward followed  by  the  overland  stages  and  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  After  a  fatiguing  ride  of 
forty-five  miles,  the  little  party  reached  St.  Vrain's 
Fort  late  in  the  evening  of  July  10.  This  fur- 
trading  station  was  situated  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Platte,  about  forty  miles  east  of  Long's  Peak. 


FREMONT  97 

Fremont  found  the  elevation  of  the  place  to  be 
five  thousand  four  hundred  feet.  He  saw  but 
little  snow  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the  neighbor- 
ing mountains,  where  a  forest  fire  was  raging  south 
of  the  peak. 

Fort  Laramie,  about  one  hundred  twenty-five 
miles  to  the  northwest,  was  now  his  destination. 
He  started  on  the  morning  of  July  12,  and  the 
valley  road  hear  the  Platte  "resembled  a  garden  in 
the  splendor  of  fields  of  varied  flowers,  which  filled 
the  air  with  fragrance."  Journeying  northward, 
the  band  halted  at  midday  on  the  bank  of  the  Cache 
a  la  Poudre,  which  Fremont  describes  as  "a  very 
beautiful  mountain  stream,  about  one  hundred  feet 
wide,  flowing  with  a  full  swift  current  over  a  rocky 
bed . ' '  He  says :  ' '  We  halted  under  the  shade  of  some 
cottonwoods,  with  which  the  stream  is  wooded 
scatteringly."  His  camp  was  a  few  miles  south  of 
where  Winsdor  is  to-day.  Thence  the  party  had 
a  long  march  over  a  parched  desert.  An  exclu- 
sive meat  diet  creates  much  thirst,  and  the  men 
suffered  for  want  of  water.  The  horses,  too,  were 
distressed. 

Fremont  was  a  careful  observer,  and  he  no- 
ticed that  the  soil  was  good.  The  barrenness  of 
the  country  he  rightly  concluded  was  due  almost 
entirely  to  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  climate. 

About  sundown,  on  July  13,  the  party  came  to  a 


98  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

beautiful  creek  with  grassy  banks,  and  were  de- 
lighted to  find  themselves  in  a  hunter's  paradise. 
One  of  a  herd  of  buffalo  feeding  near  by  was  killed 
for  their  supper. 

Northward  the  explorers  pursued  their  course 
through  a  country  that  was  bleak  and  ashen-hued, 
except  along  the  creeks.  On  the  15th  they  arrived 
at  the  junction  of  the  Laramie  and  North  Platte. 
Here  was  a  trading-post  named  Fort  Platte.  Like 
St.  Vrain's,  it  had  thick,  strong  earthen  walls;  on 
the  side  toward  the  river  it  was  open.  A  few  hun- 
dred yards  beyond  was  the  large  post  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company,  called  Fort  Laramie.  A  short 
distance  away  the  newcomers  found  Kit  Carson 
and  the  other  members  of  the  expedition  encamped 
on  the  bank  of  the  Laramie  River,  with  its  clear, 
cool  water  making  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  muddy 
waters  of  the  Platte. 

Fort  Laramie  was  built  in  Mexican  fashion.  It 
was  an  imposing  quadrangular  structure  with  clay 
walls  fifteen  feet  high,  surrounded  by  a  wooden 
palisade.  Each  apartment  had  a  door  and  window 
opening  on  the  interior  court  or  plaza.  There  was 
a  large  public  entrance  beneath  a  square  tower 
with  loopholes;  a  second,  smaller,  entrance  was  a 
sort  of  postern  gate.  The  traders  living  here  had 
squaws  for  wives.  They  bought  buffalo  robes  and 
other  skins  of  the  Indians,  who  took  in  exchange 


FREMONT  99 

blankets,  guns,  powder,  lead,  vermilion,  tobacco, 
beads,  looking-glasses,  and  other  articles. 

Fremont  was  told  that  the  country  to  the  west 
was  swarming  with  war  parties  of  Sioux  and  other 
Indians.  In  view  of  the  dangers  ahead,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  leave  young  Benton  and  Brant 
at  the  fort. 

Setting  out  from  Fort  Laramie  on  July  21,  the 
party  explored  South  Pass,  by  which  route  hosts 
of  gold-seekers  passed  on  their  way  to  California  in 
1849  and  later.  While  they  were  in  the  Wind  River 
Mountains,  in  western  Wyoming,  the  leader  with  sev- 
eral companions  ascended  a  peak  that  has  been 
named  in  his  honor  Fremont's  Peak.  Its  elevation 
is  thirteen  thousand  seven  hundred  ninety  feet. 
On  the  loftiest  crag  he  hoisted  the  American  flag. 

The  party  now  turned  their  faces  homeward,  and 
Fremont  with  six  men  ventured  to  descend  the 
North  Platte.  They  had  a  perilous  voyage  through 
the  canon,  in  an  india-rubber  boat  twenty  feet  long 
and  five  feet  broad.  The  cliffs  towered  above 
them,  a  sheer  precipice  four  hundred  feet  high.  In 
places  the  channel  was  so  narrow  that  the  men 
could  touch  the  walls  on  both  sides;  boulders  had 
fallen  into  the  stream,  and  the  water  rushed  by  them 
with  tremendous  violence.  The  light  craft  sustained 
shock  after  shock,  and  leaped  the  cataracts  like  a 
waterbird. 


100  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Singing  a  Canadian  boat  song,  the  little  company 
dashed  through  the  gloomy  chasm,  when  suddenly 
the  boat  struck  a  concealed  rock  and  whirled  over 
in  a  twinkling.  The  next  instant  the  men  were 
swimming,  or  clinging  to  projections  of  the  rocky 
shore.  Books,  boxes,  and  articles  of  clothing  were 
floating  in  the  boiling  stream.  So  strong  was  the 
current  that  the  case  of  heavy  instruments  remained 
on  the  surface.  With  signs  making  themselves 
understood  by  one  another  (for  the  roar  of  waters 
drowned  their  words),  they  righted  the  boat  and 
recovered  a  few  blankets,  some  journals,  and  a 
circle.  One  gun  was  saved.  Everything  else  on 
board  was  lost. 

On  the  last  day  of  August  the  daring  voyageurs 
were  again  in  Fort  Laramie,  and  a  month  later  they 
gained  the  settlements  along  the  Missouri  River. 
On  October  10  they  halted  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas,  just  four  months  after  they  had  set  out 
from  Chouteau's  trading-post.  Then  they  dropped 
down  stream  to  St.  Louis,  the  voyage  occupying 
seven  days. 

Fremont's  second  expedition  outfitted  in  May, 
1843,  at  Westport.  This  outpost  on  the  border 
of  civilization  was  long  ago  swallowed  up  in  the 
flourishing  metropolis  of  Kansas  City.  Mrs.  Fre- 
mont relates  that  while  her  husband  was  on  the 
frontier  making  preparations  for  the  long  journey, 


FREMONT  101 

an  order  of  recall  came  from  his  superior  officer  in 
Washington.  Immediately  she  despatched  a  mes- 
senger with  a  letter,  urging  the  lieutenant  to  start 
without  delay.  Some  time  afterward  the  young 
wife  wrote  to  the  commanding  officer,  saying  she  had 
not  forwarded  the  order.  In  those  days  there  were 
no  telegraph  lines  in  the  West,  and  it  was  too  late 
to  prevent  the  expedition. 

On  May  29  a  party  of  two-score  started  up  the 
Kansas  River.  It  was  a  motley  company,  com- 
posed largely  of  men  who  served  with  Fremont  on 
his  former  expedition.  They  were  all  armed  with 
carbines  or  rifles,  and  the  party  had  a  howitzer  to 
use  in  case  they  should  be  attacked  by  large  bands 
of  hostile  Indians.  There  were  twelve  carts  drawn 
by  mule  teams,  and  a  light  covered  wagon  carried 
the  instruments.  All  except  the  teamsters  were 
mounted  on  mules  or  horses. 

The  frontiersmen  of  the  party  were  striking 
figures  in  their  picturesque  costumes — slouched 
broad-brimmed  hats,  blue  flannel  shirts,  short 
blouses,  buckskin  leggings,  and  moccasins.  They 
were  weatherbeaten  men,  speaking  English,  French, 
German,  and  Spanish.  Two  Delaware  Indians 
were  engaged  as  hunters,  and  Thomas  Fitzpatrick, 
an  old  plainsman  and  mountaineer,  acted  as  guide. 

Moving  up  the  valley  of  the  Kansas  River  by  a 
winding  road,  the  explorers  made  the  forks  on 


FREMONT  103 

June  8.  Their  route  was  then  along  the  Republi- 
can River  through  a  timbered  country,  well  watered 
and  fertile.  On  the  16th  the  expedition  was 
divided,  Fremont  going  ahead  with  a  party  of 
fifteen  men,  while  Fitzpatrick  followed  with  twenty- 
five  men  in  charge  of  the  baggage  wagons. 

A  fortnight  later  the  party  crossed  a  range  of 
high  hills  and  "found  ourselves,"  Fremont  says, 
"overlooking  a  broad  and  misty  valley,  where, 
about  ten  miles  distant,  and  one  thousand  feet  be- 
low us,  the  South  fork  of  the  Platte  was  rolling 
magnificently  along,  swollen  with  the  waters  of  the 
melting  snows.  It  was  in  strong  and  refreshing 
contrast  with  the  parched  country  from  which  we 
had  just  issued."  The  elevation  here  was  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  next  day  the  explorers  camped  at  the  mouth 
of  Bijou  Creek,  in  sight  of  Long's  Peak,  clad  with 
glittering  snow.  A  three-days'  journey  brought 
them  to  St.  Vrain's  Fort,  on  Independence  Day. 
Traveling  up  the  Platte  ten  miles,  they  came  to 
Lupton's  trading-post  and  stock  ranch.  Farther 
up  stream  they  found  an  Arapahoe  village  of  one 
hundred  sixty  lodges  in  a  beautiful  valley.  When 
not  far  from  the  present  site  of  Denver  they  sur- 
prised a  grizzly  bear  sauntering  along  the  river. 
Raising  himself  upon  his  hind  legs,  Bruin  took  a 
deliberate  view  of  the  strangers,  then  hastily 


104  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

scrambled  down  the  bank  and  swam  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stream.  The  party  bivouacked  for  the 
night  near  Cherry  Creek. 

On  the  8th  they  journeyed  up  the  Platte  in 
plain  view  of  the  foothills,  which  Fremont  supposed 
to  be  eight  or  ten  miles  distant.  He  describes  this 
out  range  as  "a  dark  corniced  line,  in  clear  contrast 
with  the  great  snowy  chain  which,  immediately 
beyond,  rose  glittering  five  thousand  feet  above 
them."  In  the  morning  he  got  a  glimpse  of 
Pike's  Peak,  about  seventy -five  miles  to  the 
south. 

The  following  day  his  route  took  him  over  the 
Divide,  with  its  green  spots  of  luxuriant  grass. 
"This  is  a  piny  elevation  into  which  the  prairies 
are  gathered  and  from  which  the  waters  flow,  in 
almost  every  direction,  to  the  Arkansas,  Platte,  and 
Kansas  rivers;  the  latter  stream  having  here  its 
remotest  sources."  The  topmost  ridge  he  found  to 
be  seven  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  sea 
level.  From  this  elevation  the  Spanish  Peaks 
could  be  seen.  On  the  summit  were  several  rock- 
built  natural  forts,  difficult  of  approach  in  front  and 
protected  by  a  precipice  in  the  rear. 

The  valley  or  basin  south  of  the  Divide  was 
radiant  with  flowers,  purple,  scarlet,  yellow,  and 
white.  Fremont  thought  the  soil  was  excellent, 
and  the  country  admirably  adapted  for  agriculture, 


FREMONT  105 

and  stock  raising.  The  myth  of  the  "Great  Ameri- 
can Desert,"  however,  was  not  exploded  for  a  score 
of  years  afterward. 

Turning  to  the  southwest,  the  party  reached  the 
wagon-road  to  the  settlements  in  the  Arkansas 
valley.  Down  Boiling  Spring  Creek  (Fontaine 
Qui  Bouille)  they  journeyed  on  June  14  to  the 
Mexican  settlement  at  Pueblo.  Here  were  a 
number  of  Frenchmen  and  Americans  \vho  had 
married  Spanish  women  from  the  valley  of  Taos. 
They  occupied  themselves  with  farming,  stock 
raising,  and  trading  with  the  Indians.  Fremont 
was  disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  procuring 
supplies  here,  but  he  was  glad  to  meet  Kit  Carson, 
whom  he  sent  to  Bent's  Fort  for  mules.  From  this 
point,  some  seventy-five  miles  to  the  east  on  the 
Arkansas  River,  Carson  was  to  cut  across  the 
country  to  St.  Vrain's  with  what  animals  he  could 
procure. 

On  the  16th  Fremont  rode  up  Fountain  Creek, 
intending  to  visit  the  springs  from  which  the  stream 
takes  its  name.  At  the  north  base  of  Pike's  Peak 
he  came  suddenly  upon  a  large  smooth  rock,  where 
several  springs  were  boiling  and  foaming.  Pass- 
ing on  through  a  narrow  thicket,  he  stepped  upon 
a  wrhite  rock  whence  the  water  bubbled  up.  A 
deer  was  drinking  at  the  spring,  and  it  bounded  off 
up  the  mountainside.  An  analysis  of  the  white 


100  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

crust  with  which  the  water  had  covered  the  rock 
showed  it  to  be  chiefly  carbonate  of  lime. 

Fremont  had  now  surveyed  to  their  sources  some 
of  the  plains  streams  that  feed  the  Arkansas  and 
the  South  Platte  rivers.  On  his  homeward  march 
he  hoped  to  explore  the  headwaters  of  the  Platte  in 
the  mountains.  On  the  morning  of  June  23  he 
joined  Carson  and  Fitzpatrick  at  St.  Vrain's. 

Once  more  the  expedition  was  divided.  Fitz- 
patrick with  twenty-five  men  was  sent  northward 
by  the  Oregon  trail  to  Fort  Hall  in  Idaho,  where  he 
was  to  await  the  arrival  of  Fremont.  The  other 
party  included,  besides  the  leader,  Carson,  Preuss, 
and  a  dozen  others.  Fremont  tried  in  vain  to  find 
a  trapper  who  could  guide  them  from  Long's  Peak 
through  the  ranges  to  the  plains  of  the  western 
slope.  But  the  race  of  trappers  who  formerly 
lived  in  the  recesses  of  Colorado's  mountains  had 
almost  disappeared;  they  had  been  murdered  by 
Indians  or  had  gone  to  Wyoming  and  Idaho.  Hav- 
ing no  guide,  the  party  took  another  route. 

Leaving  St.  Vrain's  on  the  26th,  they  passed  up 
the  Poudre  River  for  several  days,  then  skirted  the 
Front  Range  into  southern  Wyoming.  Fremont 
was  delighted  with  the  pleasant  weather  and  the 
beautiful  country  with  its  magnificent  flora.  "The 
slopes  and  broad  ravines  were  absolutely  covered 
with  fields  of  flowers  of  the  most  exquisitely  beauti- 


PKEMOVi  10? 

i'ul  colors."  He  found  mountain  sage  abundant; 
this  bush,  called  artemisia,  grows  from  three  to  six 
feet  in  height.  On  August  14  the  band  forded  the 
North  Platte  and  halted  on  the  left  bank,  two 
hundred  miles  from  St.  Vrain's  Fort. 

The  next  day  they  were  busy  drying  buffalo 
flesh  for  the  long  journey  before  them  in  a  region 
nearly  destitute  of  game.  Scaffolds  were  erected, 
fires  built,  and  the  beef  cut  up  into  thin  slices. 
While  thus  engaged  the  party  were  thrown  into  a 
sudden  tumult  by  the  charge  of  about  seventy 
mounted  redskins.  The  guard  saw  one  of  the 
\varriors  just  in  time,  and  gave  warning.  With  a 
yell  the  savages  rode  down  the  hill,  coming  to  an 
abrupt  halt  when  they  saw  the  whites  drawn  up 
ready  to  receive  them  with  a  howitzer  shot.  Signs 
for  peace  were  made,  the  pipe  went  round,  and 
presents  were  bestowed.  The  Indians  proved  to 
be  a  war  party  of  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  re- 
turning from  an  unsuccessful  expedition  against 
the  Shoshones.  They  had  a  lot  of  horses  that  they 
had  stolen  from  the  whites  at  Fort  Bridger  in 
northeastern  Utah.  They  said  they  had  mistaken 
the  explorers  for  a  band  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  party  crossed  the  Continental  Divide  through 
South  Pass,  at  an  elevation  of  seven  thousand  four 
hundred  ninety  feet.  They  found  the  trail  well 
beaten  by  the  wagons  of  Oregon  emigrants.  Fre- 


10S  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

mont  estimated  the  distance  of  the  pass  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Kansas  River,  by  the  ordinary  travel- 
ing route,  at  nine  hundred  sixty-two  miles;  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  eight  hundred  eighty-two 
miles;  and  about  fourteen  hundred  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Oregon. 

From  this  halfway  point  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  explorers  entered  Mexi- 
can territory,  occasionally  running  across  parties  of 
emigrants  from  the  States.  After  a  journey  of 
seventeen  hundred  miles  they  finally  got  to  Salt 
Lake,  on  September  8.  Fremont  and  four  com- 
panions were  the  first  white  men  to  explore  this 
great  inland  sea.  From  Salt  Lake  the  company 
proceeded  northward  to  Fort  Hall  on  the  Snake 
River.  This  trading-post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Fur  Company  Fremont  estimated  to  be  one  thou- 
sand three  hundred  twenty-three  miles  from  West- 
port  via  Fort  Laramie. 

From  Fort  Hall  the  lieutenant  writh  less  than 
thirty  men  headed  northward,  pursuing  the  course 
of  the  Snake  River  to  the  valley  of  the  Columbia. 
Carson  with  the  main  party  being  left  at  the  Dalles, 
Fremont  sailed  down  the  river  to  Fort  Vancouver 
on  the  coast.  This  was  the  western  termination 
of  the  expedition.  Here  he  obtained  supplies  for 
the  homeward  journey,  and  on  November  10  he 
started  upon  his  return.  He  rejoined  the  main 


FREMONT  109 

party,  and  two  weeks  later  they  set  out  southward 
on  a  "voyage"  of  discovery  and  exploration. 

It  was  a  tedious  trip  across  the  desert  expanse  of 
the  Great  Interior  Basin  of  Nevada,  but  the  horrors 
of  the  midwinter  journey  through  the  Sierras  are 
beyond  description.  Fortunately  for  Carson  and 
a  number  of  the  other  men,  they  had  parted  com- 
pany with  the  main  company,  having  decided  to 
go  back  to  New  Mexico. 

Fremont  took  observations  and  calculated  pretty 
accurately  where  the  end  of  the  proposed  route 
would  land  them.  Captain  Sutter's  ranch  was  his 
objective  point.  The  mountains  ahead  looked 
dreary,  but  the  party  pressed  forward.  The  how- 
itzer became  such  an  incumbrance  that  it  was  left 
behind,  in  the  snow,  on  January  29,  1844.  Pro- 
visions were  becoming  fearfully  scant,  and  at  times 
the  company  were  reduced  to  the  extremity  of  want. 
The  hungry  men  were  ill  protected,  and  shivered  in 
the  icy  blasts.  Some  nights  they  had  no  shelter; 
then,  covering  the  snow  with  boughs,  they  would 
spread  blankets  on  them  and  lie  down  to  unpleas- 
ant dreams.  Horses  and  mules  floundered  in  the 
deep  drifts,  and  the  adventurous  plodders  were 
obliged  to  break  roads  through  the  inhospitable 
wilderness.  The  glare  of  the  snow  made  them 
nearly  blind,  and  they  wore  black  silk  handker- 
chiefs over  their  faces  to  relieve  their  eyes  Some  of 


'110  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

the  men  were  almost  crazed  by  their  sufferings. 
On  March  6  the  advance  party  got  to  Slitter's 
ranch  in  the  Sacramento  valley. 

After  a  fortnight's  rest  they  resumed  the  home- 
ward line  of  march.  The  procession  moved  south- 
ward to  a  pass  at  the  head  of  the  San  Joaquin 
River,  then  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the 
Spanish  Trail  between  Santa  Fe  and  Los  Angeles. 
They  had  to  be  constantly  on  their  guard  against 
marauding  savages,  who  stole  stock  and  killed  one 
man.  For  some  time  the  route  lay  through  the 
Colorado  desert,  then  they  traversed  Utah  and 
entered  Colorado,  going  up  Grand  River.  The 
valley  was  alive  with  buffalo,  and  they  frequently 
met  parties  of  Indians  who  were  on  the  warpath. 
One  day  they  witnessed  a  hot  battle  between  five 
hundred  Utes  and  Arapahoes. 

On  June  20  they  entered  the  rugged  mountains 
of  the  Park  Range.  "In  the  afternoon,"  Fremont 
writes,  "we  continued  our  road — occasionally 
through  open  pines,  with  a  very  gradual  ascent. 
We  surprised  a  herd  of  buffalo,  enjoying  the  shade 
at  a  small  lake  among  the  pines;  and  they  made 
the  dry  branches  crack,  as  they  broke  through 
the  woods.  In  a  ride  of  about  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  and  having  ascended  perhaps  eight  hundred 
feet,  we  reached  the  summit  of  the  dividing  ridge" 
This  pass  has  since  been  named  Fremont  Pass ;  its 


FREMONT  111 

altitude  is  eleven  thousand  three  hundred  twenty 
feet. 

The  explorers  were  then  in  sight  of  the  springs  and 
small  branches  which  form  the  headwaters  of  the 
Arkansas  River.  After  a  week  of  difficult  travel- 
ing, following  buffalo  trails,  they  emerged  from 
the  mountains  into  the  Arkansas  valley.  The 
cavalcade  moved  rapidly  down  the  river,  stopping 
at  the  Mexican-American  settlement  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Fontaine  Qui  Bouille.  On  July  1 
they  arrived  at  Bent's  Fort.  Thence  they  con- 
tinued their  easterly  course,  arriving  at  St.  Louis 
on  August  6,  1844,  after  an  absence  of  fourteen 
months,  having  traveled  some  six  thousand  fi^e 
hundred  miles. 

In  1845  the  Pathfinder,  whose  name  had  become 
known  in  two  continents  through  his  services  to 
geography,  w^as  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  On 
August  6  he  set  out,  from  Bent's  Fort,  on  his  third 
expedition.  His  well-equipped  party  of  nearly 
sixty  men  proceeded  up  the  Arkansas,  passed  on 
through  western  Colorado  into  Utah,  and  thence 
across  the  central  basin.  In  the  spring  of  1846 
they  found  themselves  in  California.  War  broke 
out  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  and  the 
exploring  party  was  merged  in  a  battalion  that  did 
its  part  valiantly  in  adding  an  immense  domain  to 
our  country. 


112  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

On  October  14,  1848,  Fremont  started  from 
St.  Louis  on  a  fourth  expedition  across  the  conti- 
nent. It  was  not  made  under  the  auspices  of  the 
government,  but  was  financed  by  himself  and 
Benton.  Some  public-spirited  citizens  of  St.  Louis, 
who  were  interested  in  the  project  of  a  national 
road  to  the  Pacific,  aided  in  the  preparations  and 
contributed  to  the  expense  fund.  With  thirty-three 
men  and  one  hundred  twenty  mules,  Fremont 
crossed  the  plains  to  Bent's  Fort.  Thence  the 
company  made  their  way  to  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  and  in  December  they  were 
battling  against  snow  and  ice,  trying  to  effect  a 
passage  through  the  San  Juan  Range. 

The  cold  was  intense,  and  the  mountain  trails 
were  impassable.  They  were  encamped  nearly 
twelve  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  Here  a 
blizzard  overtook  them,  and  they  could  go  no 
farther.  One  by  one  the  mules  froze.  Several  of 
the  explorers  were  frostbitten,  and  one  man  in  his 
despair  lay  down  in  the  trail  and  froze;  others 
starved.  The  party  grew  discouraged,  and  became 
scattered  in  the  blinding  snowstorm.  They  beat 
a  road  with  mauls,  but  soon  it  became  impossible 
to  advance.  By  this  time  the  animals  had  all 
succumbed  to  the  severe  cold. 

It  was  a  desperate  situation,  and  Fremont  de- 
cided to  send  a  small  party  on  foot  to  the  Spanish 


FREMONT  113 

settlements  in  New  Mexico  for  provisions  and  for 
mules  to  transport  the  baggage  to  Taos.  It  was 
a  forlorn  hope,  and  failed.  Sixteen  days  elapsed, 
and  there  was  scarcely  anything  left  in  camp  to  eat. 
The  Utes,  Apaches,  Comanches,  and  other  tribes 
were  then  at  war  with  the  United  States,  and  Fre- 
mont feared  the  little  band  had  been  cut  off  by 
Indians.  With  four  comrades  he  started  forth  to 
look  for  succor,  and  on  the  sixth  day  he  found  three 
of  the  famished  men;  one  had  died  of  hunger,  and 
the  rest  were  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  Finally 
the  weak,  emaciated  travelers  reached  the  home  of 
Kit  Carson  at  Taos,  where  they  were  kindly  cared 
for.  A  relief  party  with  horses  and  supplies  was 
immediately  sent  back  for  the  remaining  explorers. 
Meantime,  one  by  one  the  poor  fellows  gave  out 
and  died.  They  lost  all  hope  of  obtaining  relief,  and 
thought  it  best  for  the  party  to  break  up ;  perchance 
some  of  them  might  have  the  luck  to  kill  game. 
They  did  get  a  grouse  here  and  there,  and  so  they 
were  kept  alive  till  a  deer  was  shot.  This  afforded 
only  a  temporary  relief.  Slowly  and  painfully 
they  dragged  themselves  along;  when  a  man's 
strength  failed  so  that  he  could  travel  no  farther, 
the  others  kindled  a  fire  for  him  and  pushed  on, 
leaving  him  to  die  alone.  When  the  relief  party 
came  up  with  the  handful  of  survivors,  "they  all 
cried  together  like  children." 


114  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

It  was  an  ill-starred  enterprise,  and  Fremont  laid 
the  blame  upon  the  guide,  Bill  Williams.  This 
old  trapper  had  passed  many  years  in  the  moun- 
tains and  knew  them  as  well  as  any  one,  but  at  that 
time  of  year  snow  had  filled  the  trails  and  hidden 
the  marks  by  which  Indians  and  mountaineers  find 
their  way.  Williams  blundered,  as  might  have 
been  expected.  The  party  pursued  a  tortuous 
course,  making  unnecessarily  slow  progress,  till 
ruin  overtook  them. 

A  man  of  less  Spartan  mold  than  Fremont  would 
have  been  crushed  by  the  disaster  with  which  he  had 
met.  He  wras  stripped  of  almost  everything  but 
life.  One  third  of  the  men  who  had  started  out 
with  him  had  miserably  perished  or  were  hopelessly 
ill.  All  the  animals  were  lost,  and  much  of  his 
equipment  was  scattered  over  the  mountain  slopes. 
Vet  his  indomitable  spirit  was  not  broken.  Car- 
son and  others  helped  him  refit,  and  the  army 
officers  stationed  in  that  section  extended  every 
aid  in  their  power.  Another  start  was  made  at 
Santa  Fe  and  in  a  hundred  days  he  was  in  the 
Sacramento  valley.  Here  a  new  career  opened 
before  him.  California  was  admitted  to  the 
Union  as  a  state,  and  Fremont  was  chosen  a  United 
States  senator. 

In  the  interests  of  a  Pacific  railway,  he  organized 
iind  led  another  expedition,  in  1853.  Starting  in 


FREMONT 


115 


KIT   CARSON 

September,  this  party  crossed  the  plains,  and 
continued  up  the  Arkansas  to  the  Sangre  de  Cristo 
Range,  which  they  crossed  through  the  Sand  Hill 
Pass,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Captain  Pike. 
Their  route  took  them  through  the  San  Juan 
country,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Colorado, 
which  was  now  United  States  territory.  This 


116  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

time  Fremont  succeeded  in  finding  passes  where  he 
believed  steel  tracks  could  be  laid,  and  within  a 
generation  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway 
was  constructed  through  the  inhospitable  moun- 
tains of  the  San  Juan. 

The  members  of  the  expedition  found  the  Utes 
very  troublesome,  and  once  the  Indians  threatened 
to  attack  them,  when  Fremont  defied  the  warriors. 
An  exhibition  of  shooting  with  Colt's  revolvers 
scared  them,  and  an  encounter  was  narrowly 
averted.  Supplies  ran  exceedingly  low,  and  the 
party  were  finally  reduced  to  the  disagreeable 
necessity  of  killing  their  horses  for  food.  Each 
man  took  an  oath  that  he  would  never  eat  a  com- 
rade. They  burnt  off  the  prickles  of  cactus  and 
ate  the  pulp.  For  fifty  days  they  eked  out  a 
wretched  existence,  while  traveling  westward  from 
Grand  River  to  the  valleys  beyond  the  first  range 
of  the  Wasatch  Mountains.  After  horrible  suffer- 
ings, they  arrived  (February  8)  at  Parawan,  where 
the  Mormons  succored  them.  The  enfeebled  party 
rested  and  continued  their  journey,  reaching  San 
Francisco  on  May  1,  1854. 

In  his  five  expeditions  Fremont  traveled  more 
than  twenty  thousand  miles,  exploring  the  wilds  of 
the  West  and  seeking  routes  for  transcontinental 
travel.  He  lived  to  see  his  ideas  more  than  real- 
ized in  the  building  of  the  great  western  railways. 


CHAPTER  VI 

GUNNISON 

CAPTAIN  John  W.  Gimnison  \vas  as  brave  a  man 
as  ever  gave  up  his  life  in  the  exploration  of  the 
West.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  was  sent  by  the 
Secretary  of  War  at  the  head  of  an  expedition 
whose  object  was  to  find  a  practicable  route  for  a 
railroad  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Cap- 
tain Gunnison,  Lieutenant  E.  G.  Beckwith  and 
several  scientists  and  topographers  made  up  the 
exploring  party.  They  outfitted  at  St.  Louis  in 
June  and  traveled  by  stage  to  the  Kansas  frontier. 
On  the  20th  Captain  Morris,  with  a  detachment 
of  thirty  soldiers  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  joined 
them  as  an  escort.  The  cavalcade  consisted  of  an 
ambulance  carriage,  a  light  vehicle  for  instruments, 
and  sixteen  wagons,  each  drawn  by  a  six-mule 
team. 

Following  the  Kansas  River  and  Smoky  Hill 
route,  Captain  Gunnison  and  his  party  traversed 
the  valleys  and  rolling  prairies  of  the  Sunflower 
State.  Striking  across  the  country  southward  in 
eastern  Colorado,  they  came  to  Bent's  Fort,  on  the 
Arkansas  River.  They  found  its  adobe  walls  in 

117 


GUNNISON  110 

ruins.  Bent  had  abandoned  the  fort  and  destroyed 
it  a  year  before.  For  a  long  time  it  had  been  a 
rendezvous  for  trappers  and  freighters. 

Fording  the  river,  the  company  marched  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Apishapa.  From  this  point  they 
directed  their  course  toward  the  Spanish  Peaks. 
They  were  now  in  territory  that  had  been  recently 
annexed  to  the  United  States  as  a  result  of  the 
Mexican  War. 

On  August  6  Gunnison  reached  a  settlement  of 
half  a  dozen  New  Mexican  families  in  the  valley  of 
the  Greenhorn  River.  Here  he  engaged  as  guide 
a  Spanish  mountaineer  who  was  familiar  with  the 
country  westward  to  the  Pacific,  having  been  a 
trapper,  trader,  and  Indian  fighter. 

Up  the  Huerfano  they  proceeded  by  a  pathway 
of  bright  flowers  to  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Pass. 
Captain  Morris  and  his  men  went  in  advance  of 
the  exploring  party  and  prepared  a  road  for  the 
wagons  on  the  mountain  slopes  and  through  the 
serrated  pinnacles  of  the  Sierra  Blanca.  The  alti- 
tude of  the  highest  point  passed  by  the  wagons 
was  nine  thousand  three  hundred  ninety-two  feet. 

It  is  through  this  depression,  by  which  Gunnison 
passed  with  the  wagons  of  the  party,  that  the  Den- 
ver &  Rio  Grande  Railway  was  constructed  by  a 
tortuous  course  on  the  mountain  flanks.  It  is  now 
known  as  Le  Veta  Pass,  in  the  Culebra  Range. 


120  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

He  observed  no  evidences  of  snowslides  or  ava- 
lanches about  the  pass. 

Leaving  camp  on  August  15,  Gunnison  took  a 
side-trip  through  the  San  Luis  valley  to  Taos,  in 
New  Mexico.  During  the  first  day's  ride  he  and 
his  companions  occasionally  saw  columns  of  smoke 
in  the  distance:  with  signal  fires  the  Indians  of 
the  neighborhood  were  making  knowTn,  to  those 
farther  on,  the  presence  of  strangers.  He  found 
but  little  grass  in  the  broad  valley,  where  cactus, 
prickly  pears,  and  sagebrush  were  growing  in  pro- 
fusion. The  Indian-bred  mules  which  the  men 
rode  fed  that  night  on  standing  wheat,  of  which  the 
kernels  were  still  soft. 

On  the  23d  the  company  left  Fort  Massachusetts 
in  the  sheltered  valley  under  Sierra  Blanca.  This 
log  fort  was  afterward  dismantled  and  succeeded 
by  Fort  Garland.  Northward  they  proceeded, 
winding  their  way  among  the  immense  hills  formed 
by  the  wind  blowing  the  loose  sand.  These  dunes 
with  wavy  outlines  rise  to  a  height  of  seven  hun- 
dred or  eight  hundred  feet.  They  were  seen  in 
1807  by  Captain  Pike  and  "appeared  exactly  like 
the  sea  in  a  storm,  except  in  color." 

Avoiding  the  thickest  patches  of  sage,  the  party 
traveled  along  the  northern  edge  of  the  San  Luis 
Park  toward  the  Cochetopa  Pass.  The  mag- 
nificent mountain  masses  to  the  east  and  west 


GUNNISOX  121 

aroused  their  enthusiasm.  In  Captain  Gunni- 
son's  journal  we  read : 

"The  sharp  edges  and  needle  forms  of  the  Sierra 
Blanca,  rising  three  thousand  feet  above  the  valley, 
attract  much  admiration  at  our  camp  to-night ;  and 
the  promising  opening  in  the  Sierra  San  Juan,  to 
the  southwest,  which  allured  Colonel  Fremont  to 
the  disaster  of  1848-9,  attracts  its  full  share  of 
attention  and  comment,  some  of  the  gentlemen  of 
our  party  having  participated  in  that  misfortune." 

At  the  head  of  the  San  Luis  valley  the  party  as- 
cended the  Cochetopa  Pass,  which  divides  the 
waters  of  the  Arkansas  from  those  of  the  Rio  Grande 
del  Norte.  The  trail  being  too  narrow  for  wagons, 
the  men  working  under  Captain  Morris  had  to  cut 
a  road  over  the  ridge.  The  Sa watch  Mountains 
towered  to  the  north,  and  to  the  northwest  rose  the 
Elk  Mountains.  Thither  the  explorers  wended 
their  way  through  the  country  that  has  been  named 
Gunnison  County  in  honor  of  the  explorer. 

As  they  advanced  into  the  mountainous  country, 
they  found  the  nights  freezing  cold,  although  the 
September  days  were  pleasant.  The  men  noticed 
that  they  felt  the  cold  less  than  in  a  moist  climate. 
Grouse  and  sage  hens  were  common,  and  big  game 
abounded.  The  explorers  were  now  in  the  summer 
hunting-grounds  of  the  Ute  Indians. 

It  was  anything  but  easy  going  over  some  of  the 


122  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

steep  trails,  where  wheeled  vehicles  had  never  been 
before.  It  was  often  necessary  to  blaze  a  new 
trail,  to  cut  down  trees  in  the  path,  or  to  remove 
boulders.  One  especially  difficult  passage  was  a 
rapid  descent  of  about  four  fifths  of  a  mile  to  a 
stream  nearly  one  thousand  feet  below.  The  road 
was  stony,  and  the  wagons,  with  locked  wheels, 
thumped  against  the  stones  and  grated  upon  the 
pebbles  at  an  ever  accelerating  pace  down  the 
steep  incline.  At  one  point  as  they  passed  ob- 
liquely over  a  ridge,  the  men  had  to  hold  them 
with  ropes  to  keep  them  from  overturning.  In 
ascending  slanting  hills  it  was  necessary  to  double 
up  teams. 

Notwithstanding  their  exhausting  labors,  the 
members  of  the  expedition  found  a  continual 
source  of  satisfaction  in  the  wild  beauty  of  the 
Rockies.  Forgetting  their  weariness,  they  took 
keen  delight  in  contemplating  the  rugged  scenery 
that  confronted  them.  All  kept  in  good  health, 
being  invigorated  by  the  bracing  atmosphere. 
Captain  Gunnison  says: 

"The  agreeable  and  exhilarating  effect  of  the 
pure  mountain  air  of  these  elevated  regions,  ever  a 
fruitful  theme  of  eloquence  among  trappers  and 
voyagers,  exhibits  itself  among  our  men  in  almost 
constant  boisterous  mirth.  But  violent  physical 
exertion  soon  puts  them  out  of  breath;  and  our 


GUXNISON 


123 


BLACK   CANON   OF   THE   GUNNISON   RIVER 
Courtesy  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Ry. 

animals,  in  climbing  hills,  unless  often  halted  to 
breathe,   soon  become  exhausted   and   stop   from 


124  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

the  weight  of  their  loads,  but  after  a  few  minutes' 
rest  move  on  with  renewed  vigor  and  strength." 

The  party  traversed  for  some  distance  the  valley 
of  the  river  that  has  been  named  in  honor  of  Gunni- 
son,  but  they  did  not  enter  the  precipitous  gorge 
west  of  Sapinero,  which  is  sometimes  called  "Black 
Canon."  This  is  said  to  be  the  grandest  canon 
in  Colorado.  They  halted  at  the  portals  of  the 
gloomy  chasm,  which  the  Indians  declared  to  be 
inaccessible  to  man. 

At  that  point  Gunnison  turned  aside  and  chose 
a  route  through  the  more  open  country  to  the  south. 
Proceeding  westward  to  the  present  site  of  Mont- 
rose,  he  traveled  northward  to  Delta.  The  ex- 
plorers were  struck  by  the  absence  of  vegetation  in 
the  Uncompahgre  valley,  and  Lieutenant  Beck- 
with  describes  it  as  a  barren  waste,  unfitted  for 
habitation  except  by  Indians.  Little  rain  having 
fallen  during  their  wanderings  on  the  western 
slope,  except  in  the  mountains,  they  found  only 
cactus  and  sage  growing  aw^ay  from  the  rivers. 

The  Gunnison  was  then  called  Blue  River.  This 
stream,  at  the  season  of  melting  snow,  was  greatly 
swollen.  "At  every  step,"  writes  Beckwith,  "we  see 
evidences  of  the  great  volumes  of  water  which,  at 
such  times,  roll  forward  in  its  channel  or  spread 
out  over  its  bottom,  in  the  deep  channels  now  dry, 
and  islands  now  part  of  the  mainland,  covered 


GUNNISON  125 

with  huge  trees  cast  up  and  left  by  the  angry 
stream." 

The  explorers'  course  along  Grand  River,  west 
of  the  junction  of  this  stream  with  the  Gunnison, 
was  through  striking  scenery.  "From  one  position 
a  majestic  shaft  stood  out  clear  against  the  sky;  and 
chimney  rocks  were  almost  hourly  presented,"  as 
they  rode  along,  "with  piles  occasionally  resembling 
ruins  of  immense  churches  and  dwellings,  and  one 
or  two  on  eminences  resembling  the  ruins  of  mighty 
cities  of  adobe  buildings." 

Gunnison  thought  it  a  desolate  country  near  the 
state  line. 

Following  the  Spanish  trail  westward,  he  ex- 
plored the  country  as  far  as  the  Sevier  River,  in 
Utah,  where  he  met  his  tragic  death.  So  far  the 
red  men  had  given  the  travelers  little  trouble, 
and  no  special  alarm  was  felt  when  a  detachment 
set  out  on  October  25  to  explore  Sevier  Lake.  The 
party  consisted  of  Gunnison  and  four  companions 
and  an  escort  of  seven  soldiers.  For  a  long  period 
the  explorers  had  been  among  wild  Indians  who  had 
not  molested  them,  and  the  men  lay  down  to  sleep 
with  a  feeling  of  almost  perfect  security. 

Guards  were  on  duty  all  night.  The  men  were 
up  at  daybreak  and  sat  down  to  breakfast  before 
sunrise.  While  they  were  eating,  a  large  band  of 
Pah-Utes  crept  up  under  cover  of  the  thick  bushes, 


126  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

within  twenty-five  yards  of  the  camp  fires.  With 
frightful  yells  the  savages  poured  a  volley  of  rifle 
balls  and  a  shower  of  arrows  into  the  camp. 

Instantly  all  was  confusion.  The  surprised 
soldiers  paid  little  attention  to  the  order,  "Seize 
your  arms  '  Captain  Gu unison  stepped  from  his 
tent  and  called  out  to  the  redskins  that  he  was 
their  friend.  The  shooting  continued,  and  he  fell, 
pierced  by  fifteen  arrows. 

Four  of  the  party  mounted  horses  and  succeeded 
in  getting  away.  One  of  these  rode  till  his  horse 
gave  out,  then  he  ran  on  foot  fourteen  miles  till  he 
reached  his  comrades  who  had  remained  with  Cap- 
tain Morris.  Weak  and  exhausted,  he  reeled 
breathless  among  them  and  told  the  tale  of  the 
terrible  disaster. 

Captain  Morris  and  his  men  saddled  up  and  rode 
to  the  scene  of  the  bloody  massacre.  The  Indians 
had  disappeared.  The  surviving  members  of  the 
expedition  paid  the  last  duty  to  the  mutilated 
remains  of  their  late  companions. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK 

THE  discovery  of  gold  in  California  led  men  to  look 
for  it  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Before  that,  trap- 
pers and  hunters  had  seen  the  glistening  grains 
in  creek  beds,  but  these  men  were  not  miners  and 
gave  the  matter  no  serious  thought. 

In  1850  a  party  of  Cherokees  from  Indian  Terri- 
tory prospected  Cherry  Creek  and  the  Poudre, 
finding  quartz  studded  with  gold.  They  kept  up 
the  search,  and  in  the  spring  of  1858  a  band  of 
thirty  came  with  William  Green  Russell  and  eight 
other  Georgians  to  hunt  for  gold  mines  and  placers. 
Two  parties  of  Jayhawkers  (who  had  somehow 
heard  rumors  of  gold  finds  in  the  South  Platte 
River)  joined  them  on  the  journey  up  the  Arkansas, 
and  in  June  the  united  company  exceeded  one 
hundred  persons. 

They  traveled  in  a  very  leisurely  manner,  and, 
wherever  the  sands  in  the  beds  of  streams  they 
crossed  looked  promising,  they  stopped  and  washed 
out  colors.  The  Georgians  had  done  some  mining 
in  California,  and  they  determined  to  make  a 
thorough  examination  of  the  placers  in  the  "Pike's 

127 


128  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Peak  country."  Tney  found  free  gold  in  Fountain 
Creek,  but  not  in  paying  quantities.  So  they 
pushed  on  northward,  past  Pike's  Peak,  arid 
prospected  Cherry  Creek,  the  Platte,  and  the 
Poudre,  getting  but  little  gold  dust. 

From  time  to  time  members  of  the  expedition 
became  discouraged  and  set  out  for  Kansas.  In 
the  latter  part  of  June  the  party  camped  at  the 
mouth  of  Cherry  Creek.  Here  the  Cherokees 
abandoned  the  quest  and,  with  four  white  men, 
went  back  home.  The  glittering  prize  was  not  for 
them. 

The  little  company  of  prospectors,  numbering 
only  thirteen,  worked  southward  and  prospected 
the  tributaries  of  the  Platte  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  what  is  now  Arapahoe  County.  At  last 
their  persistence  was  rewarded.  About  the  middle 
of  July  they  made  a  rich  strike  in  Dry  Creek,  only 
a  mile  or  so  south  of  the  present  site  of  Denver.  In 
a  short  time  they  had  washed  out  several  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  the  shining  flakes.  This  was  the 
first  important  discovery  of  gold  in  Colorado. 

In  May,  1858,  Captain  R.  B.  Marcy's  command, 
while  on  the  march  from  Fort  Union  to  Fort 
Bridger,  camped  at  the  confluence  of  the  Platte  and 
Cherry  Creek.  Here  a  teamster  washed  out  a 
small  amount  of  gold  dust.  Soon  afterward  he 
was  discharged  and  went  to  St;  Louis;  he  told  of 


THE  RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PE\K  129 

the  find,  starting  the  hegira  of  Missourians  to  the 
locality. 

Parties  carried  the  news  of  these  discoveries  to 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  ere  long  hundreds  of 
fresh  immigrants  had  arrived  on  the  scene,  and 
pitched  their  tents  on  the  banks  of  Cherry  Creek. 
Most  of  the  campers  did  not  stay  long,  but  scattered 
to  the  foothills  and  mountains,  turning  up  the  sands 
and  gravels.  They  supposed  the  free  gold  in  the 
streams  had  drifted  from  deposits  and  veins  higher 
up,  and  they  sought  for  these  veins.  In  the  course 
of  the  season  upward  of  a  thousand  men  made  their 
way  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
between  Fort  Laramie  and  the  Spanish  Peaks. 
At  one  time  or  another  the  majority  of  this  floating 
population  made  a  shorter  or  longer  stop  near  the 
mouth  of  Cherry  Creek.  This  point  became  the 
principal  rendezvous  and  base  of  supplies  for  the 
prospectors  and  miners.  So  a  town  grew  up  here. 

Meanwhile  numerous  finds  (or,  rather,  "pros- 
pects") were  made,  and  a  group  of  mining-camps 
sprang  up  at  the  foot  of  the  Rockies.  Snows  fell 
in  the  latter  part  of  September  and  put  a  stop  to 
work  in  some  of  the  gulches.  Full  of  hope,  the 
gold-hunters  returned  home,  or  stayed  at  the  forks 
of  the  Platte,  awaiting  the  spring.  Winter  was 
coming  on,  and  it  was  time  to  provide  for  them- 
selves some  shelter  besides  tents.  So  they  set  to 


130  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

work,  in  October  and  November,  to  build  cabins 
of  cottonwood  logs.  The  camp  thus  built  up  was 
the  beginning  of  Denver. 

Reports  of  the  gold  discoveries,  greatly  exagger- 
ated, were  carried  back  to  the  States,  causing  the 
wildest  excitement.  On  January  5,  1859,  some 
men  arrived  in  Omaha,  bringing  several  quills  full 
of  gold  dust  from  the  placers  of  the  Pike's  Peak 
country.  The  section  thus  vaguely  known  in- 
cluded, roughly  speaking,  Pueblo  (or  Fountain 
City),  Boulder,  and  the  intervening  area.  The 
name  of  Colorado  had  not  yet  been  thought  of, 
so  the  historic  mountain  seventy-five  miles  south 
of  the  diggings  came  to  stand  for  the  whole 
gold  region  roundabout. 

The  reason  is  not  hard  to  find.  In  the  summer 
of  1858  a  company  of  men  from  Lawrence,  Kansas, 
camped  for  two  months  in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods. 
Some  digging  Avas  done  on  the  slopes  of  Pike's 
Peak,  and  a  little  gold  washed  out.  From  this  time 
the  name  of  the  peak  was  given  to  the  newly  dis- 
covered gold-mining  district  of  the  Front  Range. 

The  following  spring  witnessed  a  great  rush  of 
gold-seekers  to  Pike's  Peak.  There  were  a  hun- 
dred thousand  of  them,  and  the  mighty  landmark 
of  the  plains  was  their  Ultima  Thule.  Cherry 
Creek  was  not  so  well  known ;  if  any  of  the  Fifty- 
niners  had  heard  of  this  stream,  they  probably 


THE  UUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK  131 

supposed  it  flowed  fast  by  the  rugged  sentinel  of 
the  out  range. 

The  influx  of  gold-hunters  to  the  Pike's  Peak 
country  may  be  likened  to  the  rush  to  the  Black 
Hills  in  1876.  A  tide  of  men  streamed  up  the 
valleys  of  the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas  and  across 
the  plains  between  these  rivers.  Some  came  on 
foot,  some  in  stages,  and  others  rode  in  convey- 
ances drawn  by  mules  or  horses.  The  trip  from 
Omaha  to  Denver  consumed  six  or  seven  weeks, 
if  the  driver  had  no  bad  luck.  But  many  of  the 
pilgrims  never  saw  Denver.  They  headed  their 
prairie  schooners  straight  for  Pike's  Peak.  The 
snowy  crest  of  this  majestic  mountain  could  be  seen 
from  far  out  on  the  plains,  and  it  attracted  the  ad- 
venturers. On  one  canvas  top  was  scrawled: 
"Pike's  Peak  or  Bust,  also  Cherry  Creek."  The 
idea  was  used  by  many  of  the  newcomers,  the  legend 
being  slightly  varied,  in  accordance  with  the  whim 
of  the  individual.  On  one  wagon  cover  it  ran  as 
follows : 

PIKE'S    PEAK    OR    BUST 

My  name  it  is  Joe  Bowers 

I  have  a  brother  Ike 
I'm  all  the  way  from  Missouri 

And  on  the  road  to  Pike 

Busted  by  Gum !    !   ! 


132 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


Most  of  these  fortune-seekers  had  had  no  prac- 
tical experience  at  mining ;  they  had  simply  caught 
the  gold  fever  and  joined  the  procession  of  schooners 
traveling  westward  across  the  prairies.  Many  of 
them  never  got  near  the  glittering  pinnacle  that  was 
their  beacon-star;  they  perished  of  hunger  and  thirst 


THE    PRAIRIE   SCHOONER   OF  A  PIONEER 

on  the  way,  and  their  bones  whitened  the  plains. 
Here  and  there  could  be  seen  a  broken  -  down 
schooner  with  the  grim  label,  "Busted,  by  Thunder !" 
A  host  of  the  immigrants  hailed  from  Indiana, 
Illinois,  and  other  states  of  the  Middle  West.  They 
did  not  know  how  far  it  was  to  the  land  of  gold. 
They  had  not  made  provision  for  so  long  a  journey; 


THE  RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK  133 

and,  when  they  wandered  away  from  the  rivers, 
they  and  their  animals  suffered  for  lack  of  water. 
Sometimes  a  man  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  a 
horse,  tempted  to  join  a  passing  herd  of  wild  horses. 
These  mishaps  were  among  the  many  that  over- 
took them. 

There  were  three  principal  routes  to  the  gold 
country:  the  Arkansas,  the  Platte,  and  the  Smoky 
Hill.  The  latter  trail,  between  the  Kansas  and 
Republican  rivers,  traversed  a  "region  of  barren 
desert  and  waterless  sand  hills."  The  pilgrims 
were  misled  as  to  distances  in  the  rarefied  atmos- 
phere of  the  plains,  and  before  some  of  them  gained 
their  destination  they  underwent  untold  agonies 
from  the  pangs  of  hunger  and  the  tortures  of  thirst. 
The  line  of  travel  west  of  Fort  Wallace  got  the 
name  of  "Starvation  Trail." 

Even  when  the  horses  and  mules  were  in  good 
condition,  six  or  seven  weeks  were  required  for  the 
trip  across  the  seven  hundred  miles  of  arid  waste 
between  the  Missouri  and  the  Rockies.  When 
supplies  of  food  gave  out,  the  travelers  lived  on 
game;  some  of  them  subsisted  for  days  on  prickly 
pears.  The  creeks  and  rivers  were  not  bridged  and 
had  to  be  forded;  sometimes  they  were  so  swollen 
as  to  be  utterly  impassable.  The  banks  were  steep 
and  often  miry;  and  there  were  no  blacksmith 
shops  where  broken  wagons  could  be  mended. 


134  THE  MAKTXG  OF  COLORADO 

The  lone  wayfarer,  though  not  often  in  danger 
from  Indians,  lived  in  almost  constant  dread  of 
them;  and  when  the  immigrants  moved  in  cara- 
vans the  Arabs  of  the  American  Desert  hovered 
about  the  trails,  lying  in  wait  to  steal  oxen  and 
horses. 

These  were  some  of  the  hardships  and  perils  that 
the  pioneers  faced  on  the  way  to  Colorado,  in  1859 
and  1860,  for  the  "rush"  lasted  two  years. 

The  gold-seekers  who  did  reach  Pike's  Peak 
were  quickly  disillusioned.  They  fancied  nuggets 
of  the  yellow  metal  were  scattered  about  on  the 
mountainsides.  They  believed  the  soil  was  full 
of  shining  particles  and  that  the  streams  rolled 
down  golden  sands.  The  Miinchausen  stories 
they  had  heard  were  absurd  lies. 

After  they  arrived  at  Colorado  City  they  learned 
to  their  surprise  and  sorrow  that  the  gold  diggings 
were  seventy-five  miles  or  more  to  the  northwest. 
Some  of  them  wended  their  way  thither,  only  to  be 
disappointed  and  disheartened. 

The  rush  was  followed  by  an  eastward  stampede 
of  disgruntled  "Pike's  Peakers,"  who  turned  back, 
sadder,  though  not  always  wiser,  men.  The  height 
of  the  gold  boom  was  over  by  June,  and  the  home- 
ward movement  of  discouraged  adventurers  was 
well  under  way.  They  were  a  sorry  lot  of  fellows, 
who  "looked  as  if  they  were  under  a  deep  convic- 


THE   RUSH  TO  PIKE'S  PEAK  135 

tion  of  sin."  Many  immigrants,  meeting  them  on 
the  way,  were  caught  in  the  ebb-tide  and  never 
got  anywhere  near  the  Rockies.  Tens  of  thou- 
sands returned  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1859. 
Those  who  did  press  on  to  the  gold  fields  had  to 
endure  hardships  and  put  up  with  sore  privations. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  lost  their  all  and  disap- 
peared forever,  or  drifted  elsewhere.  Some  met 
with  success  in  following  the  will-o'-the-wisp  of 
fortune;  they  made  their  pile,  and  stayed  to  help 
build  up  a  prosperous  commonwealth.  The  Fifty  - 
niners  laid  the  foundations  of  Colorado's  greatness. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DENVER 

IN  THE  month  of  June,  1858,  a  large  party  of 
Georgians  and  Kansans  prospected  Fountain  Creek 
and  other  streams  as  far  north  as  the  Poudre.  Here 
and  there  they  washed  out  a  little  "pay  dirt,"  but  no 
valuable  deposits  of  placer  gold  were  discovered. 
In  consequence,  many  members  of  the  expedition 
turned  back,  disappointed;  they  expected  to  find 
"lumps  of  gold  like  hailstones  all  over  the  surface." 

On  the  first  of  July  the  remnant  of  the  gold- 
seekers,  then  camped  near  the  mouth  of  Cherry 
Creek,  were  reduced  to  a  baker's  dozen.  These 
had  the  good  fortune  soon  afterward  to  strike  some 
rich  diggings  in  a  neighboring  creek,  and  they  were 
encouraged  to  continue  prospecting. 

Later  in  the  summer  other  bands  of  adventurers, 
brought  thither  by  the  golden  lure,  pitched  their 
tents  at  the  confluence  of  the  Platte  and  Cherry 
Creek.  This  being  the  most  central  point,  a  camp 
of  miners  and  prospectors  grew  up  here,  and  in 
September  it  had  become  a  permanent  settlement. 
In  October  the  parties  who  had  been  prospecting 
in  the  foothills  and  at  the  base  of  the  Rockies  re- 

136 


DENVER  137 

turned  to  this  rendezvous  and  began  building  houses 
on  the  west  bank  of  Cherry  Creek.  This  was  the 
nucleus  of  a  city  destined  to  become  the  metropolis 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  states  arid  territories. 

A  crude  sort  of  shelter  was  already  standing  there. 
It  was  a  tepee  rather  than  a  house,  and  had  been 
erected  the  previous  winter  by  an  Indian  trader 
named  John  S.  Smith.  In  October,  1858,  a  log- 
cabin  was  built  beside  it,  and  ere  long  there  was 
an  "Indian  Row"  of  cabins.  By  the  end  of  autumn 
scores  of  settlers  had  put  up  houses  and  stores. 
This  budding  village  on  the  west  bank  of  Cherry 
Creek  was  called  Auraria,  after  a  town  in  Georgia. 

Meanwhile  a  number  of  citizens  from  Lawrence, 
Kansas,  laid  out  a  town  on  the  east  side  of  Cherry 
Creek.  The  site  occupied  a  section  of  land  south 
of  the  Platte  River.  It  was  then  known  as  St. 
Charles.  In  November  a  company  of  enterprising 
men  from  Leaven  worth,  Kansas,  arrived.  Seeing 
the  advantages  of  the  location,  they  began  to 
build  the  town,  which  till  then  had  existed 
only  on  paper,  and  changed  the  name  to  Denver, 
in  honor  of  General  James  W.  Denver,  who  was 
then  governor  of  Kansas  Territory.  At  that  time 
Kansas  extended  to  the  Rockies,  and  the  western 
slope  was  included  in  Utah  Territory. 

One  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  Leavenworth 
party,  General  George  W.  Larimer,  built  the  first 


13X   .  THE  MAKIXG  OF  COLORADO 

house  on  the  east  bank  of  the  creek.  It  was  a  log 
cabin  twenty  feet  long  by  sixteen  wide,  with  a  turf 
roof.  It  stood  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  present 


JAMES    W.    DENVER 


City  Hall.  Larimer  Street  was  named  for  him,  and 
Lawrence  Street  for  another  Kansas  member  of  the 
town  company.  Late  in  the  fall  the  second  house 


DEXVKit  130 

was  constructed  near  by  in  Fifteenth  Street.  Not 
long  afterward  a  store  was  opened ;  then  a  tin-shop. 

On  Christmas  Day  came  the  noted  frontiersman, 
Richens  L.  Wootton,  with  six  wagonloads  of  goods, 
which  were  placed  on  sale  in  the  third  trading- 
establishment  of  the  infant  city.  "Uncle  Dick" 
threw  in  his  fortunes  with  Anraria,  which  then  had 
some  fifty  houses  ready  and  occupied. 

At  that  time  more  than  a  score  of  cabins  had 
been  erected  on  the  east  side  of  Cherry  Creek, 
mostly  in  Blake  and  Larimer  streets.  They  were 
built  of  round  cottonwood  logs,  and  had  only  one 
story,  with  no  floors  and  not  a  glass  window.  All 
the  pioneer  cabins  of  that  period  had  mud-and- 
brush  roofs.  This  is  all  there  was  then  of  what  is 
now  East  Denver. 

Already  there  was  a  trading-rivalry  between 
Denver  and  Auraria.  The  latter  was  in  the  lead, 
but  as  the  weeks  passed,  one  after  another  of  the 
business  men  of  "Indian  Row"  crossed  the  creek 
and  joined  the  Denver  town  company.  Among 
them  were  Andrew  J.  Williams,  a  New  Yorker,  and 
Charles  H.  Blake,  for  Avhom  Blake  Street  was 
named.  Early  in  1859  these  two  men  put  up  the 
first  hotel  of  the  place.  It  was  a  log  building  with 
a  canvas  roof;  some  thirty  feet  wide,  and  about  a 
hundred  feet  long,  of  one  story.  In  those  days  it 
was  called  the  "Denver  House." 


MO  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  weather  was  mild,  and  building  went  on, 
almost  uninterrupted,  through  the  months  of 
January  and  February.  By  March  about  one 
hundred  fifty  houses  had  been  erected  in  Auraria, 
and  nearly  as  many  had  been  built  or  begun  on  the 
site  of  "  Denver  City,"  as  it  was  called  at  first. 

In  the  spring  of  1859  Auraria  received  an  addi- 
tion of  twenty  settlers  who  had  founded  "Montana 
City"  in  the  previous  fall.  Their  log  huts  were 
moved,  and  no  trace  remains  of  the  little  village 
that  was  located  on  the  Platte  in  what  is  now  South 
Denver.  The  original  houses  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
in  Auraria  also  have  disappeared  in  the  march  of 
progress.  Railroad  tracks  now  occupy  the  ground 
where  stood  "Indian  Row,"  near  Twelfth  and 
Wewatta  streets. 

The  first  child  born  in  the  new  town  of  Denver 
was  William  I).  McGaa,  whose  birth  occurred 
March  3,  1859.  He  was  the  son  of  William  McGaa 
and  an  Arapahoe  woman.  In  1907  this  half-breed 
was  living  in  South  Dakota,  a  prosperous  business 
man. 

In  April  the  advance  trains  of  prairie  schooners 
arrived  from  the  States.  Tens  of  thousands  of 
Pike's  Peakers  followed  in  May  and  June,  and 
Denver  suddenly  became  an  important  city.  The 
Auraria  settlement  also  grew  with  amazing  rapidity. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  the  whites  in  Colorado 


DENVER 


141 


were  numbered  by  hundreds.  Twelve  months  later 
the  population  had  increased  to  upward  of  twenty 
thousand.  The  year-old  settlement  on  the  banks 
of  Cherry  Creek  had  between  two  and  three  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  It  was  the  chief  center  of  popu- 
lation and  a  dis- 
tributing-point for 
the  mining-camps. 
Golden  became  a 
secondary  center. 

Among  the  new- 
comers to  Cherry 
Creek  was  William 
N.  Byers,  who  es- 
tablished the  first 
Colorado  newspa- 
per, the  Rocky 
Mountain  News. 
The  initial  number 
appeared  April  23, 
1859,  two  days  af- 

,.  •        i       r\  TRINITY  METHODIST  CHURCH, 

ter  his  arrival.    On  DENVER 

the  same  day  was 

printed  the  first  and  only  issue  of  the  Cherry  Creek 
Pioneer.  The  News  was  for  some  years  a  weekly; 
it  became  an  important  factor  in  exploiting  the  re- 
sources of  the  gold  region. 

In  April  the  first  load  of  lumber  arrived  in  town 


142  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

from  a  sawmill  built  in  the  Plum  Creek  pineries. 
Henceforth  frame  dwellings  and  stores  took  the 
place  of  tents  and  log  cabins. 

It  was  a  red-letter  day  in  Denver's  early  history 
when  the  first  stage  reached  the  frontier  town,  on 
May  7,  1859.  Far  out  on  the  overland  trail  a 
swirling  mass  of  yellow  dust  could  be  seen.  The 
moving  cloud  drew  nearer,  and  a  cro\vd  of  red- 
shirted  miners  gathered  to  watch  the  strange  sight. 
Presently  two  Concord  coaches,  each  drawn  by  six 
galloping  mules,  rolled  up  and  were  greeted  by  a 
tumultuous  shout  and  a  lively  fusillade  of  revolver 
shots.  Denver  was  now  in  touch  with  civilization, 
for  the  stage  carried  letters  and  papers  back  and 
forth  between  this  western  outpost  and  the  home 
country  "back  east."  The  lumbering,  rocking 
vehicle  was  a  welcome  institution. 

The  first  trip  of  the  Leavenworth  and  Pike's 
Peak  Express  was  made  over  the  route  via  Fort 
Riley,  passing  over  the  Divide  between  the  Repub- 
lican and  Solomon's  forks  of  Kansas  River  to  its 
source,  westward  across  the  heads  of  Beaver  and 
Kiowa  creeks,  and  striking  Cherry  Creek  about 
twenty  miles  above  its  mouth.  The  length  of  the 
road  at  first  was  six  hundred  eighty-seven  miles, 
which  was  shortened  some  twenty  miles.  The 
second  trip  was  made  in  nineteen  days,  the  coaches 
arriving  at  Denver  on  May  12.  In  August  the  time 


DENVER 


143 


consumed  by  the  trip  was  about  seven  days.  The 
fare  from  Leavemvorth  to  Denver  was  one  hundred 
dollars,  meals  included. 

Gold-seekers  now  came  by  stage  as  well  as  in 
ox-carts  and  schooners.  Once  on  the  ground,  they 
began  the  quest  for  the  golden  fleece.  Multitudes 


ST.  JOSEPH'S    HOSPITAL,  DENVER 

flocked  to  the  diggings  near  Colorado  City,  Boulder, 
Golden,  Chicago  Creek,  and  Gregory  Gulch. 
They  had  great  expectations.  They  were  in  fever- 
ish haste  to  become  rich.  Claims  were  staked  and 
almost  immediately  abandoned.  Men  tramped 
the  hills  and  prospected  in  creek  beds.  Getting 
only  meager  returns,  they  gave  up  the  search  in 
disgust  and  made  their  way  to  Denver. 


144  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

It  was  not  long  before  these  disappointed  adven- 
turers were  out  on  the  plains,  headed  eastward, 
some  of  them  on  foot  and  others  riding  in  schooners. 
Soon  the  tide  of  "Go  Backs"  was  swelled  to  tens  of 
thousands.  To  the  immigrants  that  they  met  they 
proclaimed  the  flat  failure  of  their  quest  for  gold. 
In  strong  language  they  denounced  the  "Pike's 
Peak  hoax,"  and  thousands  upon  thousands  turned 
back  when  in  sight  of  the  mountains. 

But  there  was  something  real  back  of  all  this  run- 
ning to  and  fro.  Genuine  finds  were  made  in  the 
gulches,  and  sensible  men  took  the  view  that  there 
were  seams  of  valuable  minerals  far  up  in  the  gran- 
ite mountains;  the  specks  of  gold  panned  out  of 
the  sand  and  gravel  had  been  washed  down  from 
veins  and  deposits  at  higher  altitudes.  Prospect- 
ing continued,  and  there  were  rumors  of  many 
discoveries  of  gold  mines. 

The  excitement  brought  newspaper  men  from 
the  East.  Horace  Greeley,  Albert  1).  Richardson, 
and  Henry  Villard  visited  Gregory's  Diggings  and 
other  camps.  These  veracious  correspondents  in- 
vestigated and  became  convinced  of  the  richness 
of  the  Clear  Creek  and  Gilpin  mining  country. 
With  his  own  hands  Greeley  dug  up  some 
shovelfuls  of  soil,  from  which  he  washed  a  goodly 
number  of  "colors";  and  his  enthusiasm  rose  to 
the  boiling-point. 


DENVER  145 

The  story  is  told  that  a  miner  had  shot  a  gun- 
load  of  golden  grains  into  the  hole  before  the  famous 
Tribune  editor  dipped  his  shovel  into  the  ground. 
Whether  this  is  true  or  not,  Greeley  truthfully  re- 
ported what  he  saw,  and  his  realistic  descriptions  of 
the  gold  fields  did  something  to  check  the  stampede 
eastward.  He  addressed  a  mass-meeting  in  the 
barroom  of  the  Denver  House.  There  were  more 
than  two  hundred  in  the  mixed  audience,  and  his 
words  carried  weight  with  the  bearded-faced  ad- 
venturers who  had  come  to  seek  their  fortune  in 
the  ranges  of  Colorado. 

The  report  of  Greeley,  Richardson,  and  Villard 
appeared  in  the  News  and  was  spread  broadcast 
over  the  land.  The  publication  of  their  letters  in 
eastern  papers  enlightened  the  public  and  had  the 
effect  of  counteracting  the  dismal  opinions  of  the 
"Go  Backs."  It  was  largely  through  Greeley's 
influence  that  the  confidence  of  the  people  was 
restored. 

The  better  class  of  miners  and  prospectors  were 
unshaken  in  their  belief  that  here  was  a  great 
mining-country.  They  concluded  to  stay  and  cast 
in  their  lot  with  the  new  commonwealth,  which  had 
the  promise  of  a  golden  future. 

The  need  of  a  home  government  was  felt,  and  a 
constitutional  convention  was  held  at  Denver  in 
August.  By  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants 


146  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

a  new  territory  named  Jefferson  was  organized  in 
November.  It  embraced  an  area  much  larger  than 
the  Colorado  of  to-day,  taking  in  big  slices  of  Ne- 
braska, Wyoming,  and  Utah. 

Meanwhile  Denver  was  growing  beyond  the 
wildest  expectations  of  its  founders.  It  was  a  base 
of  supplies  for  Colorado  City,  Boulder,  Golden, 
and  the  newer  settlements  of  the  gold  district- 
Central  City,  Georgetown,  Breckenridge,  Idaho 
Springs,  Black  Hawk,  and  other  places.  The  City 
of  the  Plains,  as  it  came  to  be  called,  did  a  vast 
business  as  a  distributing  center  for  the  mountain 
towns  and  camps.  Gold  dust  to  the  value  of  more 
than  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  had  been  taken 
out  of  the  earth  in  the  Pike's  Peak  mining-region, 
and  capital  from  the  East  was  pouring  into  the 
lap  of  the  young  community  situated  on  the  banks 
of  Cherry  Creek.  Denver  then  had  less  than 
three  thousand  permanent  residents,  and  yet  the 
optimistic  editor  of  the  News  declared  that  he 
expected  to  see  it  a  city  of  a  hundred  thousand 
souls,  a  railway  center  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific.  Mr.  Byers  lived  to  see  it  the  metropolis 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  states,  with  a  population 
of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand. 

Before  Denver  was  a  year  old  a  professor  from 
St.  Louis  arrived,  driving  an  ox-cart.  His  first 
task  was  to  get  the  few  women  and  children  to- 


DENVER 


147 


gether  and  organize 
a  Sunday  school. 
Then  he  opened  a 
day  school.  Not 
long  afterward  reli- 
gious services  were 
held  in  Goldrick's 
schoolhouse.  It  was 
in  1860  that  the  first 
church  was  started, 
the  one  that  after- 
ward became  Trin- 
i  ty  Methodist 
Church.  The  pub- 
lic school  system  was 
established  in  1861, 
and  from  that  time 
intellectual  progress 
has  kept  pace  with 
the  material  in  the 
City  of  Lights. 

Among  those  who 
lived  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  early 
Denver  was  Jim  Baker,  who  took  up  a  homestead 
on  Clear  Creek  in  1860.  This  old-time  trapper 
and  Rocky  Mountain  guide  belongs  in  the  same 
class  with  Kit  Carson  and  Jim  Bridger.  It  is 


OLIVER  PREBLE  WIGGINS 

("Old  Scout"  Wiggins) 


14S  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

said  that  Baker  was  the  first  white  American  settler 
in  Colorado.  Another  man  who  figures  promi- 
nently in  the  annals  of  the  West  is  "Old  Scout" 
Wiggins,  who  was  a  member  of  Fremont's  first  and 

oo 

second  expeditions.  At  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-five 
years,  he  survives  hale  and  hearty,  the  oldest  of 
the  pioneers  who  have  seen  Denver  grow  up  from  i\ 
cluster  of  log  cabins  into  a  great  city. 

After  maintaining  a  separate  existence  for  nearly 
a  year  and  a  half,  the  two  cities  of  Auraria  and 
Denver,  recognizing  their  best  interests  to  be  iden- 
tical, decided  that  they  ought  to  be  consolidated. 
It  was  a  pleasant  April  evening  in  1860  when  the 
citizens  of  the  Cherry  Creek  twins  met  on  the  Lar- 
imer Street  bridge  and  ratified  the  bond  of  union. 
Auraria  was  thenceforth  known  as  West  Denver. 
In  course  of  time  settlers  built  on  the  wooded  hill 
north  of  the  Platte,  and  this  division  of  the  city  was 
called  North  Denver.  Like  Chicago,  Denver  has 
a  North  Side,  a  South  Side,  and  a  West  Side.  She 
has  also  an  East  Side. 

As  in  other  mining-towns,  there  was  a  rough 
element  here  of  gamblers  and  desperadoes,  but  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  were  of  the  well-to-do 
class,  law-abiding,  industrious,  and  ambitious. 
They  came  from  all  parts  of  the  East  and  the  Mid- 
dle West.  The  best  blood,  brain,  and  brawn  of  the 
nation  went  into  the  making  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 


DENVER  149 

tain  commonwealth  which  had  organized  itself 
into  a  territory  named  in  honor  of  the  distinguished 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  winter  of  1859-60  was  mild  and  pleasant, 
and  mining  operations  went  on  about  the  same  as 
in  the  fall.  The  majority  worked  for  low  wages, 
but  they  were  buoyed  up  by  the  thought  of  making 
a  "strike"  some  day.  "Nearly  all  were  young 
men,  full  of  virile  strength  and  sustained  by  lively 
imaginings  of  cherished  dreams  to  be  fulfilled; 
there  were  college  graduates,  sons  of  wealthy  fami- 
lies reared  in  luxury,  the  educated  and  the  ignorant, 
the  rich  and  the  povertystricken  uniting  in  one 
common  brotherhood  reduced  to  a  common  level, 
each  firmly  resolved  never  to  go  back  home  till  he 
had  'made  his  pile.'  : 

While  mining  was  the  great  industry  of  this  new 
country,  gardening,  farming,  and  stock-raising 
were  carried  on  successfully  in  the  plains  around 
Denver.  Here  and  there  a  miner  or  a  plainsman 
was  killed  by  Indians,  but  as  yet  the  red  men 
had  given  the  pioneers  no  great  trouble.  They 
were  inveterate  beggars  and  plunderers  rather 
than  fighters. 

In  the  spring  of  1860  there  was  another  furore  of 
emigration.  The  trains  of  wagons  stretched  across 
the  plains  in  an  almost  unbroken  line.  The  in- 
coming tide  represented  in  the  main  a  good  class 


150 


THE  MAKIXO  OF  COLORADO 


of  people.  Some 
tarried  in  Denver, 
but  most  of  the  new- 
comers struck  out 
for  the  mines.  New 
discoveries  were 
made,  and  countless 
placers  and  lodes 
were  worked.  In 
many  localities  the 
yellow  metal  was 
found  in  paying 
quantities ;  the  yield 
for  1860  exceeded 
two  million  dollars. 
If  not  a  Golconda, 
the  mining-region  of 
the  Front  Range 
and  South  Park  was  at  least  not  a  humbug,  as  some 
of  the  disgruntled  Fifty-niners  had  represented. 
Still,  a  considerable  number  of  the  pilgrims,  after 
trying  their  luck,  returned  to  the  States  or  drifted 
to  other  parts  of  the  West.  There  were  a  few  who 
did  not  expect  to  make  a  fortune  in  one  summer. 
They  were  willing  to  rough  it.  These  stayed  and 
swelled  the  population. 

In  1860  a  census  was  taken,  and  Jefferson  Terri- 
tory was  found  to  contain  some  forty-eight  thou- 


BROWN   PALACE  HOTEL,    DENVER 


DENVER  151 

sand  souls.  No  exact  estimate  can  be  given  of  the 
number  of  people  in  the  Pike's  Peak  mining-region, 
otherwise  known  as  "Arapahoe  County,  Kansas." 

On  February  28,  1861,  the  Territory  of  Colo- 
rado was  organized  by  act  of  Congress,  with  the 
boundaries  of  the  present  state.  Forthwith  the 
provisional  government  of  the  so-called  Territory 
of  Jefferson  came  to  an  end.  President  Lincoln 
appointed  the  first  territorial  governor,  William 
Gilpin,  who  had  accompanied  Fremont's  second 
expedition  and  fought  in  the  Mexican  War.  The 
Territorial  Legislature,  composed  of  representa- 
tives from  thirteen  counties,  met  in  Denver  on 
September  9. 

During  the  next  four  years  the  country  was  in 
the  throes  of  civil  war.  There  was  little  emigra- 
tion to  the  West,  and  Colorado's  growth  was 
almost  at  a  standstill. 

Two  memorable  calamities  mark  this  period  of 
disasters  and  troubles  of  various  kinds  that  weighed 
on  men's  spirits  in  the  dark  days  when  the  fate  of 
the  Union  seemed  to  be  hanging  in  the  balance. 
On  the  morning  of  April  19,  1863,  the  business 
portion  of  East  Denver  was  devastated  by  fire. 
A  more  appalling  catastrophe  was  the  flood  of 
May  19,  1864. 

People  had  carelessly  erected  their  homes  and 
stores  in  the  dry  bed  of  Cherry  Creek  and  on  the 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


AUDITORIUM,  DENVER 
Meeting-place  of  the  National  Democratic  Convention  of  1908. 

low  land  near  by.  Melting  snows  had  raised  the 
stream,  but  no  danger  was  feared.  A  cloudburst 
over  Plum  and  Cherry  creeks  suddenly  filled  the 
channel  in  the  night,  and  families  were  aroused 
from  sleep  to  find  their  dwellings  inundated.  A 
mighty  torrent  of  water,  spreading  like  a  tidal 
wave,  swept  trees,  driftwood,  wrecked  buildings, 
animals,  and  human  beings  down  the  roaring 
current  with  resistless  fury.  Among  the  buildings 
in  the  path  of  the  muddy  billows  were  the  City 
Hall,  the  office  of  the  News,  and  the  Methodist 
Church. 

The  surging  waters  overflowed  the  bottoms  till 
the  valley  of  the  Platte  looked  like  an  inland  sea. 


DENVER  153 

A  terrific  gale  was  blowing  and  added  to  the  horrors 
of  the  situation.  A  dozen  or  more  persons  were 
drowned,  and  the  property  loss  was  upward  of  a 
million  dollars.  Some  barely  escaped  with  their 
lives,  losing  everything  they  had,  even  the  lots  on 
which  their  houses  had  stood.  The  flood  had  the 
effect  of  wiping  out  sectional  jealousy  and  rivalry. 
Henceforth  Denver  east  of  Cherry  Creek  forged 
ahead;  people  preferred  to  settle  on  the  higher 
ground. 

In  1863  placer  mining  came  to  an  end  in 
most  of  the  Colorado  diggings;  the  gulches  and 
creek  beds  had  been  denuded  of  free  gold.  The 
miners,  not  knowing  how  to  extract  the  gold  in 
refractory  ores,  left  the  mining-camps  in  great 
numbers. 

Those  were  the  times  that  tried  the  hearts  of  men. 
Famine  prices  were  paid  for  necessaries,  and  many 
felt  the  pinch  of  want.  "The  period  between  1864 
and  1868  was  the  darkest  in  the  history  of  the 
Territory,"  says  Byers,  "and  the  people,  from  this 
and  other  blighting  causes,  including  the  Civil 
War,  trouble  with  Indians  on  the  plains,  scarcity 
of  supplies  and  of  money,  were  in  despair."  With 
the  establishment  of  smelters,  in  1868,  mining 
interests  revived,  and  Colorado  and  its  capital 
entered  upon  a  new  era  of  prosperity. 

A  newspaper  man  from  the  East  who  visited 


154 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


Denver  in  18G9  called  it  "a  western  Chicago." 
While  commending  the  business  men  of  the  place, 
he  characterized  them  as  having  "a  brusque  and 
rapid  way." 

In  1871  the  population  was  estimated  at  ten  thou- 
sand. The  inhabit- 
ants were  ambitious 
and  energetic.  They 
were  all  confident 
that  the  Queen  City 
would  some  day  be  a 
metropolis.  The  rail- 
road had  come,  and 
street-cars  were  run- 
ning in  the  principal 
thoroughfares. 
There  were  many 
fine  buildings.  The 
stores  and  hotels 
were  mostly  of  brick 
in  the  business  part 
of  town.  Adobe 
cabins  were  scarce,  except  in  the  bottoms  and  here 
and  there  along  Cherry  Creek.  Elsewhere  were 
substantial  wooden  houses,  the  homes  of  refined 
people.  The  streets  were  broad,  with  shade  trees, 
and  there  were  plank  sidewalks  in  which  were 
many  pine  knots  that  had  a  way  of  hunting  the  toes 


OFFICE  OF  THE  DAILY  MINING 
RECORD,    DENVER 


DENVER  155 

of  pedestrians.  At  night  the  business  streets  were 
lighted  with  gas,  and  places  of  amusement  were 
much  in  evidence.  Even  then  Denver  \vas  known 
as  the  "Paris  of  America." 

Some  of  the  points  in  Denver's  history  during  its 
first  decade  may  be  enumerated.  The  first  jail 
was  a  log  cabin  on  the  West  Side,  rented  for  the 
purpose;  prisoners  were  first  confined  in  it  about 
January  1,  1862.  The  first  telegraph  line  entering 
the  city  was  completed  October  10,  1863.  The 
first  national  bank  wras  organized  April  17,  1865. 
The  Platte  was  bridged  in  1865,  near  the  mouth  of 
Cherry  Creek;  the  river  then  flowed  some  twenty 
rods  south  of  its  present  course.  A  volunteer  fire 
department  was  organized  in  1866. 

As  the  cattle  industry  grew  in  the  territory, 
Denver  became  a  great  livestock  market.  Later 
it  developed  into  a  packing-house  center,  and  the 
seat  of  various  manufactures.  For  many  years  it 
has  been  the  most  important  mart  for  mining 
machinery  in  the  United  States. 

The  Queen  City  was  eighteen  years  old  when 
Colorado  was  admitted  as  a  state,  in  1876.  The 
log-cabin  village  had  then  been  transformed  into  a 
flourishing  town  with  a  world-wide  reputation. 
Its  population  had  more  than  doubled  during  the 
second  wave  of  immigration,  in  the  early  seventies. 
Thenceforth  it  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds.  It 


150  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

gained  three  hundred  per  cent,  in  a  single  decade, 
jumping  from  35,629  in  1880  to  106,713  in  1890. 
The  Federal  Census  gave  Denver  133,859  inhab- 
itants in  1900. 

Up  to  1902  Denver  was  included  in  Arapahoe 
County;  in  that  year  it  became  the  "City  and 
County  of  Denver,"  with  an  area  of  59|  square 
miles. 

According  to  a  government  census  bulletin,  Den- 
ver in  1906  was  the  twenty-fifth  city  of  the  Union 
in  point  of  population,  having  151,920  souls,  or 
nearly  one  fourth  of  Colorado's  total  population. 
In  1908,  at  the  close  of  the  first  half  century  of  its 
eventful  history,  it  had  180,000  residents.  This 
progressive,  beautiful  city  of  fifty  years'  growth  has 
become  the  greatest  business  center  between  Kansas 
City  and  San  Francisco.  It  is  the  mining  metrop- 
olis of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region. 

Paris  is  not  France,  and  Denver  is  not  Colorado ; 
yet  so  closely  are  the  interests  of  city  and  common- 
wealth identified  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  think 
of  one  without  the  other. 


CHAPTER    IX 

COLORADO  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

THE  Territory  of  Colorado  was  scarcely  born,  when 
the  country  was  plunged  into  a  fratricidal  conflict. 
The  long  struggle  over  the  extension  of  slavery 
\vas  brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  secession  of  the 
Southern  States  and  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter. 

Before  Governor  Gilpin's  arrival  in  Denver,  a 
mass  meeting  was  held  and  public-spirited  speakers 
voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  assembly  in  favor  of  a 
nation  one  and  indivisible.  The  chairman  wired 
to  President  Lincoln  this  patriotic  dispatch: 

"The  eyes  of  the  whole  world  are  upon  you; 
the  sympathies  of  the  American  people  are  with 
you;  and  may  the  God  of  battles  sustain  the  Stars 
and  Stripes !" 

When  the  newly  appointed  governor  reached 
Denver,  May  20,  an  enthusiastic  reception  was 
held.  "We  accept  you,"  said  Judge  Bennet,  in- 
troducing His  Excellency,  "as  Governor  of  Colo- 
rado under  the  palladium  of  the  Union  and  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution." 

At  the  opening  of  hostilities  there  was  a  strong 
southern  element  in  Colorado,  and  many  of  those 

157 


WILLIAM   GILPIN 
FIRST  GOVERNOR  OF  COLORADO  TERRITORY 


COLORADO  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  159 

whose  sympathies  were  with  the  South  hastily 
departed  to  join  the  Confederate  Army.  Thou- 
sands of  Union  men  also  returned  to  their  former 
homes  in  the  States  and  enlisted. 

A  considerable  number  of  disloyal  men  remained 
in  the  territory,  and  the  governor  took  active  steps 
to  checkmate  their  plottings.  He  raised  a  regi- 
ment and  equipped  the  soldiers  as  best  he  could 
with  arms  and  other  military  supplies.  The 
officer  in  command  of  the  First  Colorado  regiment 
was  Colonel  John  P.  Slough ;  his  subordinates 
were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Samuel  F.  Tappan  and 
Major  John  M.  Chivington. 

The  first  important  service  of  the  raw  troops  was 
to  break  up  a  band  of  secessionists  who  had  planned 
to  plunder  the  banks  and  business  houses  of  Den- 
ver. The  head  of  the  conspiracy,  a  Texan  named 
McKee,  was  taken  prisoner,  with  about  forty  of  his 
followers. 

In  January,  1862,  came  the  belated  news  of  a 
contemplated  campaign  against  New  Mexico  and 
Colorado.  Back  of  this  movement  was  a  project 
on  the  part  of  southern  leaders  to  seize  the  whole 
Far  West  for  the  newly  established  republic,  which 
had  Jefferson  Davis  at  its  head.  Once  they  had 
obtained  possession  of  the  forts  and  chief  cities  of 
these  two  territories,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter, 
they  believed,  to  overrun  and  hold  Utah,  Oregon, 


160  HE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

and  California.  There  being  no  navy  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  they  had  high  hopes  of  winning  all 
the  country  west  of  the  Continental  Divide  for  a 
"Western  Confederacy."  But  for  the  Colorado  sol- 
diers this  military  enterprise  might  have  succeeded. 

Jn  December,  1861,  General  Henry  II.  Sibley, 
formerly  a  major  in  the  United  States  Army,  as- 
sumed command  of  the  Confederate  forces  of 
Texas  and  New  Mexico.  These  troops  of  mounted 
infantry  numbered  nearly  thirty-five  hundred  men, 
and  they  were  a  courageous  lot  of  fighters.  This 
army  of  invaders  usually  went  by  the  name  of 
"Sibley's  Brigade,"  and  the  larger  division  of  it 
was  made  up  of  fierce  Texan  Rangers.  These 
have  been  described  as  a  desperate  lot  of  fellows, 
many  of  them  half  savage  and  some  of  them  out- 
laws. Each  man  was  mounted  on  a  wiry  mustang. 
lie  carried  a  lasso,  and  was  armed  to  the  teeth, 
having  a  rifle,  a  brace  of  revolvers,  a  bowie  knife, 
and  a  tomahawk.  A  broad-brimmed  sombrero 
overtopped  his  flowing  locks  and  swarthy  features. 

At  that  time  Colonel  Edward  R.  S.  Canby  was 
in  command  of  the  Federal  soldiers  of  the  depart- 
ment of  New  Mexico.  He  had  only  a  few  regi- 
ments of  regulars  and  militia  to  repel  the  advance 
of  the  Texan  brigade.  Among  them  was  Cap- 
tain Theodore  Dodd's  Independent  company  of 
volunteers  from  Canon  City.  The  redoubtable 


COLORADO  IX  THE  CIVIL  WAR  161 

Kit  Carson  led  one  battalion  of  the  New  Mexicans. 
Canby  had  a  larger  force  than  Sibley's,  but  the  un- 
trained militia  (more  than  a  thousand  strong) 
could  not  be  depended  upon,  and  he  met  defeat  in 
the  hot  engagement  at  Valverde  on  February  21, 
1862.  The  Colorado  volunteers  behaved  like 
veterans,  while  the  undisciplined  New  Mexicans 
fled  in  terror,  leaving  the  Pike's  Peakers  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  the  fighting.  For  hours  the  latter  valiantly 
stood  their  ground  until  they  were  nearly  over- 
whelmed by  the  furious  charges  of  the  Texans. 
Then  Canby  gave  the  order  to  abandon  the  field. 
The  Federal  army  retired  up  the  Rio  Grande  valley, 
allowing  the  Confederates  to  occupy  Albuquerque 
and  Santa  Fe. 

Already  the  First  Colorado  had  been  ordered  to 
reinforce  Canby.  So.  leaving  Camp  AYeld  near 
Denver,  on  February  22,  they  began  the  march 
southward.  The  snow  was  nearly  a  foot  deep, 
and  they  encountered  snowstorms  and  sandstorms 
on  the  way,  yet  they  pushed  on,  making  from  forty 
to  fifty  miles  a  day.  Near  the  present  site  of  Trini- 
dad they  were  joined  by  the  companies  from  Fort 
Wise  (afterward  christened  Fort  Lyon),  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Tappan.  Before  this  they  had 
learned  of  Canby's  disaster  at  Valverde  and  were 
urged  to  hasten  to  his  relief. 

Throwing  aside  unnecessary  baggage,   the  two 


102  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

columns  followed  the  Santa  Fe  stai>'e  route  south- 

o 

ward,  making  as  good  time  as  they  could  through 
the  rough  country. 

At  the  close  of  March  8  the  wearied  soldiers 
were  preparing  to  bivouac  on  the  southern  slope 
of  the  Raton  Mountains,  when  a  courier  dashed 
into  camp.  He  brought  a  message  from  Major 
Gabriel  R.  Paul,  commander  at  Fort  Union,  beg- 
ging the  Coloradoans  to  march  with  all  possible 
haste  to  the  fort.  The  little  garrison  was  expect- 
ing an  immediate  attack  by  Sibley,  and  no  time 
was  to  be  lost. 

The  volunteers  had  already  had  a  hard  day, 
trudging  thirty-seven  miles,  up  hill  and  down, 
through  mountainous  country;  yet  they  expressed 
willingness  to  keep  on.  After  a  short  rest  they 
set  out,  carrying  only  their  arms  and  blankets,  and 
made  a  forced  march  of  thirty  miles  in  the  night. 
At  daybreak  they  were  obliged  to  halt  from  sheer 
exhaustion.  In  twenty-four  hours  they  had  covered 
sixty-seven  miles.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  on  foot. 
Only  the  most  hardy,  resolute  men  could  have 
performed  this  extraordinary  feat  of  endurance. 
Another  disagreeable  day  was  now  before  them, 
for  they  were  assailed  on  the  road  by  a  mountain 
windstorm,  which  pelted  and  blinded  them  with 
sand,  dirt,  and  snow.  Finally  the  advance  com- 
panies reached  Fort  Union  on  March  10. 


COLORADO  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  163 

The  Coloradoans  were  joyfully  welcomed,  and 
their  coining  \vas  most  timely,  for  the  force  of  eight 
hundred  regulars  and  volunteers  under  Paul  was 
insufficient  for  the  defense  of  the  fort.  Fort  Union 
was  a  supply  depot,  and  the  officer  in  command 
intended  to  blow  up  the  arms  and  ammunition  that 
lie  could  not  take  with  him,  thus  preventing  the 
enemy  from  securing  these  coveted  spoils  of  war, 
valued  at  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  The  terri- 
tory was  panicstricken,  and  the  militia  had  dis- 
persed. The  New  Mexico  volunteers  were  desert- 
ing in  large  numbers;  they  were  afraid  of  the 
formidable-looking  Rangers. 

The  regiment  remained  at  Fort  Union  ten  days, 
recuperating  and  drilling.  They  were  equipped 
with  clothing  and  arms  from  the  government  stores. 
Then  Colonel  Slough  announced  his  intention  of 
acting  on  the  aggressive,  and,  with  the  forces  of  in- 
fantry and  cavalry  available,  he  set  out,  March  22, 
for  Santa  Fe.  Besides  his  own  men  of  the  First 
Colorado  regiment,  he  had  with  him  Captain  James 
Ford's  Independent  company  of  Colorado  volun- 
teers and  two  light  batteries  of  four  guns  each. 
The  combined  force  numbered  thirteen  hundred 
men.  They  were  determined  to  meet  and  attack 
the  Texans. 

On  the  25th  a  detachment  of  four  hundred  eigh- 
teen men  under  Chivington  was  sent  ahead  to 


164  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

surprise  and  expel  the  enemy  from  Santa  Fe,  if 
possible.  Captains  Wyncoop,  Downing,  Anthony, 
Cook,  Rowland,  Walker,  and  Lord  accompanied 
him.  Part  of  the  men  were  mounted. 

The  old  Santa  Fe  trail  pursues  its  winding  way 
by  many  a  detour  from  Fort  Union  to  the  "City  of 
Holy  Faith,"  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles  in  a 
southwesterly  direction.  It  runs  through  a  moun- 
tainous country,  and  for  some  ten  miles  the  trail 
passes  through  Apache  Canon,  a  grim  defile 
flanked  by  almost  perpendicular  walls  of  rock  a 
thousand  feet  high. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  the  Federals  sur- 
prised the  Confederate  advance  at  the  mouth  of 
Apache  Canon,  and  Major  Chivington  gave  battle. 
The  Texans  under  Major  Pyron  halted  at  once  and 
unfurled  their  red  flag  with  the  lone  star.  Inured 
as  they  were  to  Indian  warfare,  they  could  not  stand 
the  impetuous  onset  of  the  Pike's  Peakers.  After 
a  sharp  skirmish,  the  Texan  battery  fell  back, 
with  the  horsemen  in  hot  pursuit,  and  the  infantry 
leaping  over  the  rocks  like  mountain  sheep.  As 
they  dashed  forward  with  sw^ords  and  revolvers 
drawn,  the  cavalrymen  looked  like  so  many  flying 
demons. 

"Nothing  like  lead  or  iron,"  says  one  of  the 
Texans,  "seemed  to  stop  them,  for  w^e  were  pour- 
ing it  into  them  from  every  side  like  hail.  We  ex- 


COLORADO  IX  THE  CIVIL  WAR  l(>r> 

pected  to  shoot  the  last  one  before  they  reached  us, 
but  luck  was  against  us,  and  after  fighting  hand 
to  hand  with  them,  and  our  comrades  being  shot 
and  cut  down  every  moment,  we  were  obliged  to 
surrender." 

The  enemy  were  driven  from  the  field,  although 
they  had  artillery,  while  the  Colorado  batteries 
were  with  Slough  in  the  rear.  The  Federals  had 
between  twenty  and  thirty  killed  and  wounded. 
The  intrepid  Chivington  galloped  about  on  horse- 
back in  the  thickest  of  the  fray,  through  a  storm 
of  bullets  that  whistled  harmlessly  by  him,  although 
his  gigantic  figure  was  an  easy  target  for  the  Texan 
sharpshooters.  From  thirty  to  forty  Confederates 
were  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded.  Nearly  a 
hundred  were  captured. 

While  the  foe  suffered  severe  losses,  the  engage- 
ment was  indecisive.  Another  skirmish  took 
place  two  days  later.  Part  of  the  time  the 
fighting  was  hottest  near  Pigeon's  Ranch,  and 
this  is  the  name  by  which  the  battle  is  generally 
known.  The  action  of  March  26  and  that  of 
the  28th  are  by  some  writers  regarded  as  one 
battle,  which  is  called  Glorieta  from  La  Glorieta 
Pass,  in  which  the  engagements  of  Apache  Cation 
and  Pigeon's  Ranch  occurred. 

In  the  second  encounter  Lieutenant-Colonel 
William  R.  Scurry,  the  leader  of  the  Confederates, 


100  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

forced  the  attack.  He  had  about  eleven  hundred 
soldiers,  and  a  battery  of  three  guns.  Scurry  was 
an  able  leader,  and  he  skillfully  marshaled  his 
columns.  He  mingled  everywhere  with  his  men, 
sharing  in  the  dangers  of  the  terrible  battle.  It 
was  indeed  a  fearful  struggle,  and  more  than  once 
Slough's  battalion  was  driven  back  by  the  deter- 
mined Rangers.  Slough  had  about  eight  hundred 
men,  and  opposed  to  him  were  more  than  a  thou- 
sand. The  engagement  lasted  seven  hours  without 
a  pause. 

The  day  was  saved  by  Chivington's  attack  in  the 
rear.  With  about  one  third  of  the  command  he 
was  ordered  to  march  to  the  western  end  of  La 
Glorieta  Pass.  There  was  no  road  over  the  rocky, 
wooded  slopes,  but  a  loyal  New  Mexican  officer 
named  Chaves  offered  to  show  a  way.  Chivington's 
force  of  one  hundred  twenty  regulars  and  three 
hundred  seventy  volunteers  was  led  up  a  precipi- 
tous ascent  to  a  bluff  overlooking  the  enemy's  camp. 
The  toilsome  march  had  consumed  over  five  hours, 
and  another  hour  was  spent  in  surveying  the 
situation  and  noting  the  position  of  the  wagons  a 
thousand  feet  below.  In  single  file  they  started 
down  the  steep,  narrow  path.  They  lowered  them- 
selves over  the  face  of  the  cliff  by  means  of  ropes 
and  straps.  Down  the  slope  they  slid,  crawled,  and 
leaped. 


COLORADO  IX  THE  CIVIL  WAR  107 

Getting  nearer  the  base,  the  men  yelled  and 
whooped  like  wild  Indians,  frightening  the 
teamsters  and  few  remaining  guards.  They 
charged  at  double-quick,  drove  back  the  Texans, 
spiked  the  cannon,  and  burned  seventy-three 
wagons  loaded  with  provisions,  arms,  powder,  and 
other  stores.  Only  one  man  in  the  expedition  was 
hurt.  The  Coloradoans  captured  a  number  of 
Rangers  and  bayoneted  upward  of  six  hundred 
mules  and  horses  in  the  corral,  thus  compelling  the 
Southerners  to  go  home  on  foot. 

This  bold  exploit  of  Chivington's  men  caused 
Scurry  to  retreat  just  as  he  supposed  victory  to  be 
in  his  grasp.  Colonel  Slough  had  given  his  troops 
the  order  to  abandon  their  position  and  return  to 
camp.  The  soldiers  on  both  sides  had  fought 
nearly  the  whole  day  without  stopping  to  eat  or 
drink,  and  they  were  all  worn  out.  Soon  after 
five  o'clock  an  ambulance  bearing  a  flag  of  truce 
was  driven  down  the  road  from  the  west.  A 
Confederate  officer  stepped  out  and  asked  for  an 
armistice  until  the  dead  could  be  buried  and  the 
wounded  cared  for.  His  request  was  granted  by 
Colonel  Slough,  who  had  not  yet  learned  of  the 
crushing  disaster  inflicted  by  Chivington.  This 
flank  movement  decided  the  issue  in  the  Gettys- 
burg of  the  Southwest.  Scurry  had  probably  heard 
the  noise  of  the  firing  and  the  explosions,  and  sus- 


168  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

pected  the  trouble.  His  men  were  almost  without 
ammunition,  and  had  to  cease  fighting. 

Having  accomplished  their  purpose,  Chivington's 
detachment  ascended  the  slopes  and  retraced  their 
steps,  in  the  darkness,  over  the  heights  back  to 
camp,  thus  avoiding  a  possible  encounter  with  the 
enemy  in  the  pass. 

The  casualties  on  the  Union  side  in  the  fight  of 
March  28  were  about  forty  killed  and  more  than 
fifty  wounded.  "Our  loss  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing  in  the  two  days'  encounter  will  reach 
one  hundred  fifty/'  wrote  Governor  Connelly  on 
March  30.  The  Confederate  loss  was  twice  as 
great.  The  number  of  their  casualties,  though 
not  exactly  known,  exceeded  three  hundred 
killed  and  wounded.  'The  bloodiest  battle  of 
the  war,"  a  historian  of  the  South  calls  the  en- 
gagement. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  armistice,  which  was 
extended  till  March  30,  Slough  expected  Scurry  to 
renew  the  engagement,  but  the  Texans  retreated 
as  fast  as  they  could.  He  had  orders  from  Canby 
not  to  follow  them.  He  was  thus  prevented  from 
inflicting  still  further  punishment  on  the  fleeing 
enemy. 

Without  ammunition  and  supplies,  the  Sibley 
expedition  came  to  an  inglorious  end.  The  de- 
moralized Confederates  beat  a  precipitate  retreat 


COLORADO  IX  THE  CIVIL  WAR  169 

back  to  Texas,  and  Sibley's  dream  of  conquest 
faded  into  thin  air.  In  dead  and  wounded,  sick, 
prisoners,  and  missing,  he  left  behind  him  fully 
one  half  of  his  original  force. 

The  Pike's  Peakers  had  proved  more  than  a 
match  for  the  Texan  Rangers,  and  Chivington 
had  become  a  hero.  The  Colorado  regiment, 
raised  by  the  energetic  efforts  of  Governor  Gil- 
pin,  turned  the  scale  and  "broke  the  far  left 
wing  of  the  Rebellion."  By  the  valor  of  these 
heroic  men  New  Mexico  was  saved  to  the  Union, 
and  the  attempt  to  conquer  Colorado  failed. 

So  anxious  was  Sibley  to  get  out  of  the  country, 
that  he  buried  near  Albuquerque  the  few  brass 
howitzers  he  had  left.  The  guns  were  afterward 
dug  up,  and  four  of  them  were  placed  in  the  war 
relic  museum  in  the  Colorado  capitol. 

On  April  15  there  was  a  slight  skirmish  at 
Peralta,  in  which  four  Colorado  volunteers  were 
slain.  During  the  New  Mexico  compaign,  lasting 
nearly  three  months,  the  casualties  of  Colorado 
soldiers  were  fifty-six  dead  and  ninety-one 
wounded. 

The  two  independent  companies,  recruited  from 
the  southern  counties  of  the  territory  by  order  of 
Gilpin,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Second  Colorado 
regiment,  which  had  an  interesting  history.  Colo- 
nel J.  H.  Leavenworth  raised  six  companies  of 


170  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

volunteer  infantry,  and  later  two  other  com- 
panies were  organized.  These  eight  companies, 
together  with  the  Coloradoans  who  served  under 
Canby  in  New  Mexico,  composed  the  Second 
Colorado  regiment,  which  ultimately  became  the 
Second  Colorado  Cavalry.  From  time  to  time 
detachments  were  sent  out  against  hostile  Indians 
and  to  quell  civil  disturbances.  In  1864  this 
mounted  regiment  was  assigned  to  duty  in  Mis- 
souri, where  scattered  bands  were  engaged  in  run- 
ning down  Confederate  bushwhackers.  It  was  a 
difficult  and  dangerous  kind  of  fighting  that  they 
had  to  perform. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  the  Second  Colorado  Cavalry 
rendered  efficient  service  with  other  Federal  squad- 
rons in  checking  the  advance  of  General  Sterling 
Price,  who  marched  up  from  Arkansas  at  the  head 
of  sixteen  thousand  men,  intending  to  conquer 
Missouri.  The  First  Colorado  battery  also  took 
part  in  the  battles  of  this  campaign,  which  resulted 
in  Price's  retreat  into  Arkansas.  In  the  winter 
of  1864-5  the  regiment  was  called  upon  to  fight 
Comanches  and  other  tribes  of  hostile  savages  in 
the  district  of  the  Arkansas  River.  After  making 
a  creditable  record  the  Second  regiment  was 
mustered  out  at  Fort  Riley,  June  15,  1865,  and 
at  Fort  Leavenworth  in  October,  1865. 

In  the  sanguinary  battle  near  the  Little  Blue 


COLORADO  IX  THE  CIVIL  WAR  171 

River  several  officers  and  privates  of  the  Colorado 
Second  fell  fighting  against  Price's  veterans.  In 
the  cemetery  near  the  battlefield  lie  the  remains 
of  Captain  S.  W.  Waggoner  and  his  brave  com- 
rades, who  gave  up  their  lives  for  their  coun- 
try. A  marble  shaft  has  been  erected  near  their 
graves. 

The  Colorado  Third,  which  was  never  a  full 
regiment,  distinguished  itself  in  many  a  hard- 
fought  encounter.  The  infantry  volunteers  com- 
posing it  were  recruited  in  1862  by  order  of 
Governor  Evans,  and  were  disbanded  at  the  close 
of  the  war. 

The  members  of  the  Third  Colorado  Cavalry 
were  mustered  out  December  28,  1864,  the  term 
of  their  enlistment,  one  hundred  days,  having  ex- 
pired. They  donned  the  blue  for  a  campaign 
against  the  plains  Indians  and,  with  a  detachment 
of  the  First  Colorado,  took  part  in  the  fight  at  Sand 
Creek. 

After  waiting  more  than  a  generation,  the  State 
of  Colorado  erected  a  monument  in  honor  of  her 
brave  citizen-soldiers  who  fought  and  died  to 
save  the  Union.  The  dedication  of  this  appro- 
priate memorial,  standing  in  front  of  the  Capitol, 
took  place  October  9,  1907. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT 

THE  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  occupied  the  plains 
north  of  the  Arkansas  River  in  Colorado  and 
Kansas.  As  Indians  go,  these  tribes  were  better 
than  the  average.  It  is  but  simple  justice  to  them 
to  say  that  they  were  not  so  bad  as  they  have 
sometimes  been  painted.  Often  they  refrained 
from  deeds  of  violence  and  treachery  when  white 
men  were  in  their  power. 

Cautiousness  has  always  been  a  characteristic 
of  the  red  man,  and  this  trait  frequently  led  the 
Indians  to  avoid  clashes  with  parties  of  armed 
emigrants  on  their  way  to  Oregon  and  California 
in  the  forties  and  fifties.  But  when  a  multitude 
of  civilized  men  took  up  their  abode  in  the  Pike's 
Peak  region,  trouble  was  bound  to  come.  The 
interests  of  the  red  race  and  the  white  conflicted ; 
each  wanted  a  monopoly  of  the  country.  In  the 
early  days,  when  trappers  and  adventurers  were 
comparatively  few,  they  were  tolerated  and  al- 
lowed to  continue  at  their  avocations.  But  when 
settlers  came  by  tens  of  thousands,  encroaching 
upon  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Indian,  he  found 

172 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  173 

it  harder  to  live  in  his  accustomed  way.  With  the 
supply  of  game  diminishing,  the  savage  tried  to 
make  up  for  the  loss  by  stealing  cattle  and  horses 
from  the  paleface. 

The  trouble  between  the  two  races  was  deep- 
seated  ;  the  struggle  for  existence  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  it.  Both  were  selfish  and  unfair.  Every  man 
on  the  frontier  being  a  law  to  himself,  each  side  re- 
taliated. If  the  savage  was  cruel  to  his  victims, 
the  white  man  was  at  times  guilty  of  gross  in- 
justice. While  many  of  the  copper-skinned  no- 
mads were  peaceably  disposed  toward  the  pale- 
faces, they  had  their  grievances;  having  suffered 
wrongs  at  the  hands  of  traders  and  plainsmen, 
they  dealt  out  vengeance  upon  some  other  white 
man  who  was  innocent.  Such  was  the  situation 
just  before  the  Civil  War. 

The  red  man  saw  a  great  tide  of  human  beings 
rolling  toward  the  setting  sun,  innumerable  prai- 
rie schooners  with  occupants  who  had  coine  to 
dispossess  him  of  the  land  of  his  fathers.  He 
foresaw  the  outcome,  and  made  up  his  mind 
not  to  give  up  his  heritage  without  a  struggle. 
Under  the  circumstances  outrages  and  depre- 
dations by  the  Indians  were  to  be  expected.  The 
wonder  is  that  there  were  not  more  acts  of  ra- 
pine and  bloodshed.  Had  the  redskins  been 
as  bloodthirsty  as  some  have  imagined  them  to 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  175 

be,  they    could  have  wiped  out  the  white  popu- 
lation. 

Matters  reached  a  crisis  at  the  time  of  the  Civil 
War.  The  United  States  troops  were  withdrawn 
from  the  frontier;  they  were  needed  to  fight  for 
the  Union.  This  was  the  red  man's  opportunity, 
and  he  seized  it.  A  conflict  was  precipitated,  and 
in  the  end  the  stronger  side  triumphed. 

In  1861  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  were 
persuaded  to  cede  their  lands  to  the  government, 
a  large  tract  upon  the  Arkansas  being  set  apart  for 
a  reservation.  They  had  no  sooner  deeded  away 
their  ancestral  domain  than  they  regretted  their 
act.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  tribes  never 
joined  in  or  consented  to  the  treaty,  and  they  were 
unwilling  to  be  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  reser- 
vation. Here  was  a  bone  of  contention  between 
the  two  races. 

On  a  basis  of  mutual  respect  and  appreciation, 
a  common  understanding  might  have  been  reached 
without  war.  Contemptuous  toleration,  if  not 
abuse,  was  generally  the  portion  of  the  Indian,  who, 
on  his  part,  knew  nothing  of  the  principle  concern- 
ing "the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number." 

The  natives  were  subjected  to  nameless  indig- 
nities by  plainsmen  and  miners.  Ruffians  invaded 
their  tepees  and  insulted  the  squaws.  The  un- 
tutored red  man  wras  cheated  by  traders;  he  was 


176  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

given  villainous  whiskey  in  return  for  valuable 
robes  and  pelts.  There  was  no  redress  for  these 
injuries  when  the  chiefs  made  complaints.  They 
bore  with  patience  the  insults  and  frauds  of  a  su- 
perior race,  but  they  brooded  over  their  wrongs  in 
silence  and  bided  their  time.  Being  poorly  sup- 
plied with  firearms  and  ponies,  they  could  make 
no  effectual  resistance,  and  it  was  the  part  of  pru- 
dence to  avoid  or  postpone  a  collision  with  the 
whites.  Meanwhile  they  nursed  their  grievances 
and  prepared  for  an  uprising  by  purchasing  or 
stealing  guns  and  ammunition. 

Trouble  was  brewing  not  only  among  the  Colo- 
rado tribes,  but  among  the  different  Indian  nations 
from  Texas  to  Minnesota.  They  discussed  their 
wrongs  around  the  council  fires.  For  ages  the 
tribes  had  warred  upon  one  another;  now  they 
agreed  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  to  unite  in  a  common 
cause  against  the  white  people.  As  a  preliminary, 
they  stole  horses  and  mules  from  soldiers,  settlers, 
and  immigrants.  Though  goaded  to  reprisals, 
they  waited  and  plotted. 

Petty  outrages,  such  as  the  stealing  of  stock  and 
other  property  of  ranchers,  were  committed  time 
and  again  and  were  allowed  to  go  unpunished  in 
many  instances;  so  the  roving  warriors  grew  more 
bold  and  insolent.  In  1862  the  Sioux  of  the  plains 
and  Minnesota  broke  out  into  open  hostility,  and 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  177 

many  of  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes  joined 
them.  Those  of  Colorado  were  sullen  and  resent- 
ful, but  held  aloof.  In  1863  some  of  them,  aggra- 
vated beyond  endurance,  declared  openly  for  war, 
while  the  cooler  and  wiser  heads  among  the  older 
men  counseled  patience.  Traders  who  understood 
the  Indian  dialects  listened  to  the  boasts  and  omi- 
nous mutterings  of  the  younger  bucks,  and  reports 
of  a  conspiracy  against  the  whites  were  spread 
abroad.  Time  passed,  and  it  was  rumored  far 
and  near  that  the  Comanches,  Kiowas,  and  other 
tribes  of  plains  Indians  were  preparing  for  a  gen- 
eral outbreak.  Coloradoans  feared  that  the  Chey- 
ennes and  Arapahoes  would  swoop  down  upon 
them,  and  many  false  reports  were  circulated,  in- 
creasing disquietude.  Finally  matters  reached  a 
crisis. 

In  1864  a  coalition  was  formed  by  most  of  the 
tribes  occupying  the  country  between  Mexico  and 
British  Columbia;  its  purpose  was  to  expel  or 
exterminate  the  white  population.  A  reign  of 
terror  ensued.  Detachments  of  soldiers  were  at- 
tacked; ranchers  were  murdered,  and  their  homes 
burnt;  scores  of  immigrants  were  slain  while 
journeying  westward  in  the  valley  of  the  South 
Platte;  overland  stages  were  fired  upon  by  redskins 
in  ambush,  passengers  were  killed,  arid  the  mails 
strewn  over  the  prairie.  Other  barbarities  that 


178  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

cannot  be  described  were  perpetrated.  "By  the 
beginning  of  autumn  the  whole  plains  region  was 
aflame." 

Nothing  effective  was  done  by  the  military  to 
prevent  or  punish  these  outrages.  The  officers  in 
command  at  the  forts  and  other  posts  had  not 
enough  troops  to  intimidate  the  warriors,  who 
moved  about  in  bodies  of  hundreds  and  even  thou- 
sands. The  majority  of  the  braves  were  now 
armed  with  muskets  and  revolvers,  and  they  were 
sometimes  bold  enough  to  fight  in  the  open.  One 
of  the  expeditions  sent  out  against  them  was  under 
Lieutenant  Eayre,  who  had  one  hundred  cavalry- 
men and  two  howitzers.  On  the  Smoky  Hill  the 
company  encountered  four  hundred  Cheyennes, 
who  made  a  desperate  charge,  rushing  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  cannon.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  of 
them  were  killed  before  the  band  wras  beaten  back. 

Something  had  to  be  done  to  put  a  stop  to  these 
raids  and  atrocities  of  armed  savages.  In  this 
emergency  the  militia  was  ordered  out,  and,  with 
the  Hon.  Henry  M.  Teller  in  command,  patrolled 
the  stage  route  between  Julesburg  and  Denver. 
The  military  being  too -few  to  cow  the  fighting  In- 
dians into  submission,  the  Coloradoans  themselves 
were  obliged  to  raise  a  regiment.  A  call  was  issued 
for  volunteers  to  serve  one  hundred  days;  the  men 
came  from  the  shops  and  offices,  the  mines  and  the 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  179 

fields,  eager  for  the  fray.  The  dashing  Chivington, 
now  a  colonel,  was  placed  at  their  head.  In  Sep- 
tember they  took  the  field  against  the  hostiles, 
determined  to  deliver  a  crushing  blow  before  winter. 

In  the  summer  Governor  Evans  had  sent  mes- 
sengers to  the  plains  tribes  of  the  territory,  directing 
the  friendly  Indians  to  rendezvous  at  Forts  Lyon, 
Laramie,  and  Collins  for  safety  and  protection. 
A  proclamation  made  by  the  governor  stated  that 
all  who  did  not  respond  to  his  call  wrould  be  pun- 
ished. Not  many  came  in,  except  Friday's  band 
of  one  hundred  seventy-five  Arapahoes,  who  took 
up  their  residence  at  Camp  Collins. 

Evans  appealed  to  Washington  in  vain.  No 
government  troops  were  available.  "We  have 
none  to  spare,  you  must  protect  yourselves,"  wrote 
General  S.  R.  Curtis,  the  commander  of  the  west- 
ern department.  The  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  at  the  capital  favored  a  policy  of  concilia- 
tion, while  the  Coloradoans  believed  severity  was 
necessary. 

All  the  while  the  situation  was  becoming  more 
critical  and  complicated.  Little  Raven  was  head 
chief  of  the  southern  Arapahoes,  and  Black  Kettle 
head  chief  of  the  southern  Cheyennes.  There  is 
evidence  tending  to  show  that  they  were  both  in- 
volved in  the  league  against  the  whites  at  the  very 
time  they  were  making  professions  of  friendship. 


ISO  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

One  day  in  early  autumn  three  Cheyennes  came 
to  Fort  Lyon,  bearing  a  letter  from  some  of  their 
chiefs.  It  was  written  by  a  half-breed  named 
George  Bent  and  was  addressed  to  Major  S.  G. 
Colley,  the  Indian  Agent  for  the  Cheyennes  and 
Arapahoes.  The  letter  ran  as  follows: 

CIIEYEXNE  VILLAGE,  August  29,  1804. 
Sin :  We  received  a  letter  from  Bent,  wishing  us  to  make 
peaee.  We  held  a  council  in  regard  to  it;  all  came  to  the 
conclusion  to  make  peace  with  you,  providing  you  make 
peace  with  the  Kiowas,  Comanches,  Arapahoes,  Apaches, 
and  Sioux.  We  are  going  to  send  a  messenger  to  the  Kiowas 
and  to  the  other  nations  about  our  going  to  make  peace 
with  you.  WTe  heard  that  you  have  some  prisoners  at  Den- 
ver; we  have  some  prisoners  of  yours  which  we  are  willing 
to  give  up,  providing  you  give  up  yours.  There  are  three 
war  parties  out  yet,  and  two  of  Arapahoes;  they  have  been 
out  some  time  and  expected  soon.  When  we  held  this 
council  there  were  a  few  Arapahoes  and  Sioux  present.  We 
want  true  news  from  you  in  return.  (That  is,  a  letter.) 
BLACK  KETTLE  AND  OTHER  CHIEFS. 

Major  E.  W.  Wyncoop  was  at  that  time  com- 
mandant of  the  post.  He  was  extremely  anxious 
to  effect  the  release  of  the  white  prisoners,  and 
took  the  risk  of  encountering  a  force  of  warriors 
much  larger  than  his  own.  The  Indians  were 
encamped  at  a  place  called  Bunch  of  Timbers,  on 
the  Smoky  Hill,  about  one  hundred  forty  miles 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  181 

northeast  of  Fort  Lyon.  If  the  red  men  really 
desired  to  make  peace  with  their  white  brothers,  he 
was  willing  to  meet  them  half-way.  At  the  head 
of  one  hundred  twenty-seven  mounted  men,  with 
two  howitzers,  he  marched  to  the  rendezvous. 

The  Indians  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  and 
prepared  to  fight.  Presently  Wyncoop's  little  de- 
tachment was  surrounded  by  six  hundred  armed 
braves.  Some  of  them  were  insolent  and  threaten- 
ing, and  the  officer  realized  that  he  was  in  extreme 
danger.  Putting  on  a  bold  front,  he  stated  his 
mission  to  the  chiefs  and  cut  short  the  parley.  He 
assured  them  that  he  had  no  authority  to  make  a 
treaty  of  peace,  but  he  invited  them  to  accompany 
him  to  Denver  for  a  conference  with  the  governor, 
promising  them  protection  and  a  safe  return.  Then 
he  withdrew  to  a  strong  position  and  remained 
three  days.  Black  Kettle  and  Left  Hand,  an  Arapa- 
hoe  chief,  showed  their  good  faith  by  delivering 
up  four  prisoners.  These  were  a  sixteen-year-old 
girl  named  Laura  Roper  and  three  young  children. 
The  captives  stated  that  the  Indians  had  treated 
them  well.  One,  a  boy  about  eight  years  old,  said 
he  was  willing  to  stay  with  his  captors. 

Acting  on  Wyncoop's  assurances,  seven  chiefs 
accompanied  him  to  Denver.  On  September  28 
they  met  Governor  Evans  in  a  council  at  Camp 
Weld.  Black  Kettle,  White  Antelope,  and  Bull 


1S2  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Bear  represented  the  Cheyennes;  the  Arapahoe 
chiefs  present  were  Heap  Buffalo,  No-ta-ne,  Neva, 
and  Boisee  (or  Bosse).  Several  citizens  and  some 
army  officers  attended  the  meeting,  and  John 
Smith,  the  Indian  trader,  acted  as  interpreter. 

The  chiefs  in  their  regalia  made  an  imposing 
appearance.  They  first  shook  hands  with  every- 
body in  the  room,  and  the  pipe  was  passed  from  one 
to  another.  The  first  to  speak  was  Black  Kettle, 
who  made  an  eloquent  speech.  He  stated  that 
since  receiving  Governor  Evans's  proclamation  of 
June  27,  he  had  done  everything  in  his  power  to 
promote  peace.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  gather 
his  people  together,  they  had  held  a  council  and 
secured  the  services  of  Bent,  who  had  written  a 
letter  for  them.  Afterward  the  chief  had  followed 
Wyncoop  to  Fort  Lyon  and  trusted  himself  in  the 
hands  of  the  soldiers,  so  anxious  was  he  to  see  the 
governor  in  the  hope  of  making  a  treaty  of  peace. 
He  concluded  with  a  touch  of  poetry : 

"We  have  come  with  our  eyes  shut,  following  his 
handful  of  men,  like  coming  through  the  fire.  All 
we  ask  is  that  we  may  have  peace  with  the  whites; 
we  want  to  hold  you  by  the  hand.  You  are  our 
father;  we  have  been  traveling  through  a  cloud; 
the  sky  has  been  dark  ever  since  the  war  began. 
These  braves  who  are  with  me  are  willing  to  do 
what  I  say.  We  want  to  take  good  tidings  home 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  183 

to  our  people,  that  they  may  sleep  in  peace.  I 
want  you  to  give  all  the  chiefs  of  the  soldiers  here 
to  understand  that  we  are  for  peace,  and  that  we 
have  made  peace,  that  we  may  not  be  mistaken 
for  enemies."  He  added:  "We  must  live  near 
the  buffalo  or  starve." 

Black  Kettle  and  other  chiefs  denied  that  they 
had  made  an  alliance  with  the  Sioux.  In  the  dis- 
cussion that  followed  they  positively  stated  that 
the  whites  were  the  aggressors  and  had  started  the 
war,  forcing  the  Indians  to  fight.  They  protested 
that  the  stealing  and  murdering  had  been  done 
by  the  bands  of  Sioux  and  other  tribes ;  at  the  same 
time  they  admitted  that  fighting  had  been  done 
and  some  depredations  committed  by  the  Chey- 
ennes  and  Arapahoes. 

Several  chiefs  expressed  themselves  on  one 
point  or  another.  "It  was  like  going  through  a 
strong  blast  of  fire,"  exclaimed  White  Antelope, 
"for  Major  Wyncoop's  soldiers  to  come  to  our 
camp,  and  it  was  the  same  for  us  to  come  to  see 
you."  He  referred  with  pride  to  the  medal  that 
he  had  received  from  the  Great  Father  at  Wash- 
ington, President  Buchanan. 

Governor  Evans  reproached  the  chiefs  for  not 
meeting  him  when  he  went  to  the  head  of  the  Re- 
publican River  for  a  council.  "The  time  is  near 
at  hand  when  the  plains  will  swarm  with  United 


184  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

States  soldiers,"  he  observed  threateningly.  He 
evaded  the  question  of  attacks  made  by  troops  on 
the  Indians,  but  insisted  with  emphasis  that  the 
braves  must  show  their  sincerity  by  aiding  the 
military  in  punishing  the  hostiles.  He  asserted 
that,  war  having  begun,  it  was  no  longer  in  his 
power  to  make  peace.  Henceforth  the  red  men 
must  deal  with  the  military  authorities  and  make 
such  arrangements  as  they  could  with  the  officers 
in  regard  to  protection  and  subsistence.  All  \vlio 
were  disposed  to  be  friendly  should  come  to  the 
posts;  the  others  would  be  hunted  and  punished. 

By  this  time  the  conversation  had  become 
broken  and  desultory,  every  chief  having  something 
to  say,  and  the  statements  made  by  the  Indians 
did  not  always  agree.  Then  Colonel  Chivington 
got  up  and  made  a  terse,  blunt  speech,  which  was 
at  once  a  warning  and  a  threat. 

"I  am  not  a  big  war  chief,"  he  began,  "but  all 
the  soldiers  in  this  country  are  at  my  command. 
My  rule  of  fighting  white  men  or  Indians  is,  to 
fight  them  until  they  lay  down  their  arms  and  sub- 
mit to  military  authority.  You  are  nearer  Major 
Wyncoop  than  any  one  else,  and  you  can  go  to  him 
when  you  get  ready  to  do  that." 

The  conference  was  over,  and  it  looked  as  though 
nothing  would  come  of  it.  It  had,  however,  served 
to  clear  the  air,  and  the  chiefs  seemed  to  think  it 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  185 

satisfactory,  although  no  conclusion  had  been 
reached.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, for  General  Curtis  telegraphed  from  Fort 
Leavenworth  that  no  terms  must  be  made  without 
his  directions.  All  that  remained  for  the  red  men 
was  to  do  as  Major  Wyncoop  ordered.  They 
appeared  willing  to  submit  to  his  authority,  being 
anxious  for  peace. 

Acting  upon  the  advice  given,  Black  Kettle 
brought  in  several  hundred  Cheyennes  of  his  band 
to  Fort  Lyon,  and  Little  Raven  came  with  a  small 
number  of  Arapahoes.  There  were  some  six 
hundred  Indians  all  told.  They  complied  with 
Wyncoop's  orders,  and  it  was  understood  that  they 
were  to  be  protected  by  the  troops.  Later,  in 
November,  Major  Scott  Anthony  assumed  com- 
mand at  the  fort,  and  he  directed  the  Indians  to 
hunt  buffalo  in  the  vicinity  of  Sand  Creek,  or  Big 
Sandy  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Arkansas;  he 
could  furnish  them  with  provisions  no  longer. 
There  wras  some  friction  between  him  and  them, 
but  no  open  outbreak;  he  seems  to  have  had  a 
poor  opinion  of  the  red  men,  and  they  mistrusted 
him.  Although  dissatisfied  writh  the  change  of 
commander  of  the  post,  fearing  it  boded  them  no 
good,  they  had  no  fears  that  their  families  would 
be  disturbed. 

On  their  part,  these  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes 


ISO  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

refrained  from  depredations,  and  the  ranchers  of 
the  Arkansas  valley  harvested  their  crops  in  safety; 
all  through  October  and  November  solitary  trav- 
elers passed  back  and  forth  on  the  road  between 
Denver  and  Fort  Lyon  and  were  not  molested. 
Previously  travel  through  this  country  had  been 
unsafe  except  for  large  parties  well  armed  or  with 
an  escort  of  soldiers. 

Meanwhile  Governor  Evans  reported  to  Major 
Col  ley  that  he  had  declined  to  make  peace  with  the 
Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes  because  they  were  at 
war  against  the  government  and  peace  could  be 
made  only  by  the  War  Department.  He  then 
went  to  Washington,  and  Chivington  had  a  free 
hand. 

It  was  the  belief  of  General  Curtis  that  the  red 
men  needed  more  punishment  before  there  was 
any  more  peace  talk.  "I  want  no  peace  till  Indians 
surfer  more,"  he  telegraphed  on  September  28,  the 
day  of  the  council  at  Camp  Weld.  "I  fear  the 
agent  of  the  Interior  Department  will  be  ready  to 
make  presents  too  soon.  It  is  better  to  chastise 
before  giving  anything  but  a  little  tobacco  to  talk 
over."  Chivington  seems  to  have  held  the  same 
view,  and  he  set  out  with  his  battalion  to  punish  the 
"bad  Indians."  He  resolved  to  strike  them  a  blow 
they  wrould  never  forget. 

John  M.  Chivington  was  a  man  of  more  than 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  187 

ordinary  abilities,  intellectual  and  physical.  He 
had  to  a  high  degree  the  qualities  of  a  successful 
officer.  He  won  the  attachment  and  admiration 
of  his  soldiers  and  subordinates.  More  than  six 
feet  in  height,  he  was  of  magnificent  physique. 
Although  not  trained  in  military  affairs,  he  had  in 
him  the  making  of  a  leader.  He  was  brave  with- 
out being  rash.  This  masterful  man,  then  in  the 
prime  of  life,  apparently  had  a  brilliant  future  be- 
fore him. 

There  was  no  unanimity  among  the  Indians  in 
regard  to  the  contemplated  uprising.  The  chiefs 
and  the  influential  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes  op- 
posed it;  a  majority  of  the  bands  whose  chiefs  had 
talked  with  the  governor  wanted  peace,  but  a 
number  of  the  young  men  could  not  be  restrained 
and  were  still  fighting.  It  took  time  to  recall  them 
all  from  the  warpath. 

Chivington  knew  this  wrhen  he  set  out  on  his 
punitive  expedition.  He  seems  "to  have  thought 
that  on  general  principles  the  Indians  needed  fur- 
ther chastisement;  they  were  to  be  whipped  into 
submission.  The  one-hundred-day  volunteers  had 
enlisted  for  the  sole  purpose  of  suppressing  the 
disturbances  on  the  plains,  and  they  were  chafing 
because  of  inactivity.  So  he  took  the  field,  march- 
ing first  to  Fort  Lyon  for  reinforcements.  Major 
Anthony  fell  in  with  his  idea  and  placed  at  his  dis- 


188  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

posal  all  the  regulars  of  the  First  Colorado  and  the 
New  Mexico  volunteers  that  could  be  spared  from 
the  post.  These  detachments  increased  the  regi- 
ment to  nine  or  ten  hundred  men.  Major  An- 
thony had  been  anxious  to  have  a  brush  with  the 
Indians,  but  had  not  dared  to  attack  them  with  his 
small  force. 

Colonel  Chivington's  command  arrived  at  Fort 
Lyon  on  the  morning  of  November  28,  1864,  after 
a  long  march  through  deep  snow.  They  rested 
all  day,  and  in  the  evening  they  started  with  three 
days'  cooked  provisions  and  two  hundred  rounds 
of  ammunition.  Before  setting  out  on  the  expe- 
dition against  Black  Kettle's  camp,  or  while  on  the 
way,  Lieutenants  Cramer  and  Cannon  protested 
against  attacking  a  band  of  friendly  Indians  who 
were  resting  in  fancied  security,  relying  upon  the 
assurances  of  safety  given  by  Wyncoop  and  An- 
thony. Chivington  retorted  hotly  that  men  in 
sympathy  with  the  Indians  had  better  get  out  of 
the  United  States  service.  Captain  Soule  and 
other  officers  remonstrated  with  him,  but  in  vain. 

Colonel  Chivington  had  kept  his  destination  a 
secret,  and  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  in  camp 
on  Sand  Creek,  about  forty  miles  northeast  of  Fort 
Lyon,  knew  nothing  of  his  movements  and  inten- 
tions. By  a  forced  march  in  the  night  his  regiment 
of  mounted  men  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  189 

Indian  village  at  daybreak  on  the  29th  and  sur- 
rounded it.  There  were  one  hundred  thirty  tepees 
of  Black  Kettle's  band  of  Cheyennes  and  eight 
lodges  of  Arapahoes  under  Chief  Left  Hand. 
The  encampment  consisted  of  some  one  hundred 
fifty  warriors  and  four  hundred  fifty  old  men, 
squaws,  and  children.  Their  exact  number  is  not 
known. 

Before  the  troops  reached  the  camp,  in  the  bend 
of  the  creek,  an  old  squaw  heard  the  rumbling  of 
the  artillery  and  the  tramp  of  the  approaching 
squadrons.  She  thought  a  herd  of  buffalo  was 
coming,  and  tried  to  rouse  some  of  the  braves,  but 
they  doubted  her  story.  They  had  made  no  prepa- 
rations for  defense  and  were  completely  surprised. 

In  the  glimmering  dawn  Chivington  halted  his 
troops  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  which  was  then 
nearly  dry.  Then  he  addressed  them  with  a  few 
words.  "Men,  strip  for  action,"  he  said.  "I  don't 
tell  you  to  kill  all  ages  and  regardless  of  sex,  but 
look  back  on  the  plains  of  the  Platte,  where  your 
mothers,  fathers,  brothers,  sisters  have  been  slain, 
their  blood  saturating  the  sands  of  the  Platte." 
Then  he  gave  the  command  to  attack  the  slumber- 
ing camp. 

It  was  about  sunrise  when  the  columns  ap- 
proached the  village  from  different  directions  on 
the  opposite  banks  of  the  creek.  The  First  Colo- 


190  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

rado  leading,  the  troops  charged  upon  the  place 
with  yells,  firing  their  guns. 

The  first  soldier  killed  was  Private  George 
Pierce,  of  Company  F.  He  chanced  to  see  John 
Smith,  who  had  been  trading  at  the  village,  run 
from  a  tepee  during  the  volley  and  start  toward  the 
troops.  Some  of  the  men  fired  at  him,  and  Pierce 
tried  to  rescue  him.  Spurring  his  mount  forward 
at  full  speed,  he  dashed  ahead  of  the  line.  In  the 
excitement  the  horse  became  unruly  and  ran  away, 
carrying  his  rider  through  the  lower  end  of  the  en- 
campment. Suddenly  steed  and  man  fell  together 
in  a  heap.  Pierce  sprang  up  and  ran  a  short  dis- 
tance; there  was  a  puff  of  smoke  from  an  Indian 
gun,  and  he  dropped.  The  same  moment  the 
rifles  of  Lieutenant  Wilson's  battalion  spoke,  and 
soon  afterward  was  heard  the  cracking  of  carbines 
en  the  opposite  bank.  The  fight  had  begun  in 
deadly  earnest. 

The  men  of  the  Third  Colorado  needed  no  urg- 
ing; they  were  burning  to  avenge  the  Hungate 
murders,  and  rushed  toward  the  lodges,  firing  as 
the  startled  Indians  ran  out  singly  or  in  groups. 
A  chief  and  several  Cheyennes  were  killed  while 
running  toward  the  troops  with  both  hands  raised, 
as  though  begging  the  cavalrymen  to  spare  their 
lives.  Paying  no  attention  to  these  gestures,  the 
volunteers  fell  upon  them  in  a  frenzy  of  uncoil- 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  191 

trollable  fury.  Helpless  old  men,  as  well  as  bucks, 
were  cut  down  in  an  indiscriminate  slaughter. 
Most  of  the  women  and  children  huddled  together 
in  fright,  and  nearly  every  one  was  shot  down  in 
cold  blood.  Others  fled. 

In  the  meantime  the  two  pieces  of  artillery  were 
brought  up  and  placed  in  position.  The  cavalry 
were  around  on  the  different  hills  firing  at  the 
Indians,  who  had  left  the  village  and  taken  to  the 
creek  bed.  The  howitzers  opened  fire  with  grape 
and  canister  on  the  warriors  under  the  banks, 
changing  their  position  as  the  red  men  moved 
farther  up  the  creek.  Meanwhile  the  regulars  and 
volunteers  with  rifles  and  muskets  got  in  their 
deadly  work,  shooting  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards 
or  less. 

The  soldiers  wrere  so  maddened  that  the  officers 
could  not  restrain  them.  In  their  vengeful  feroc- 
ity they  committed  many  hideous  barbarities  on 
the  slain.  They  scalped  and  mutilated  dead 
squaws  and  fallen  braves,  and  even  knocked  in  the 
skulls  of  boys  and  girls  of  a  tender  age. 

It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  take  the 
women  and  children  captive,  but  Chivington  had 
given  orders  to  take  no  prisoners.  It  seems  to 
have  been  his  wish  and  intention  to  annihilate  the 
camp. 

Of  the  six  hundred  or  more  inhabitants  of  the 


192  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

village  perhaps  one  half  escaped.  The  warriors, 
between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred  in  number, 
did  not  form  in  line  of  battle,  but  fled  promiscu- 
ously to  the  creek.  Their  herd  of  horses  had  been 
cut  off  before  the  charge,  and  they  were  at  the 
disadvantage  of  fighting  on  foot,  while  their  as- 
sailants mounted  or  dismounted  as  suited  their 
convenience. 

Being  pursued  along  the  c~eek,  the  Indians  kept 
up  a  running  fight  for  three  or  four  miles.  At  first 
they  dug  holes  in  the  sandy  bank,  which  afforded 
them  some  protection  from  the  leaden  missiles. 
Time  and  again  they  were  dislodged  from  these 
pits  by  shells.  For  a  while  they  made  a  desperate 
resistance,  sometimes  bravely  charging  until  they 
had  emptied  their  weapons;  they  killed  ten  and 
wounded  about  forty  men.  The  surviving  braves 
scattered,  every  one  looking  out  for  himself  and 
fleeing  from  the  battlefield  wherever  there  chanced 
to  be  a  gap  in  the  ranks.  Their  muzzle-loaders 
and  squirrel  rifles  could  not  do  so  destructive  work 
as  the  firearms  of  the  soldiers,  and  ammunition 
was  scarce. 

Black  Kettle  with  a  handful  of  his  people  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  through  the  lines  and  escaped. 
The  Arapahoe  chief,  Left  Hand,  had  already  been 
slain.  White  Antelope  was  made  a  target  for  the 
soldiers  as  he  came  running  out  to  meet  them  at  the 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  193 

beginning  of  the  fight.  Holding  up  his  hands,  with 
palms  outward  in  token  of  peaceable  intentions,  he 
cried:  "Stop!  stop!"  His  words,  spoken  in  Eng- 
lish, were  drowned  in  the  whooping  and  hallooing. 
Folding  his  arms,  he  stood  still  for  an  instant, 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  of  the  advancing  col- 
umn; then  he  fell,  pierced  with  bullets.  He  met 
his  fate  without  flinching,  and  a  few  minutes  later 
his  scalp  was  taken. 

The  firing  continued  from  sunrise  until  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  From  start  to  finish 
the  fight  was  an  unequal  one.  The  troops  out- 
numbered the  warriors  five  or  six  to  one.  Setting 
at  naught  the  recognized  rules  of  civilized  warfare, 
regulars  and  volunteers  kept  up  the  butchery  as 
long  as  any  Indians  were  in  sight.  "No  Indian, 
old  or  young,  male  or  female,  \vas  spared,"  says 
Lieutenant  Cramer.  James  Beckwourth,  who  was 
present,  declared  "there  wrere  all  sexes,  warriors, 
women,  and  children,  and  all  ages,  from  one  week 
old  up  to  eighty  years."  There  were  upward  of 
three  hundred  fifty  women  and  children  in  the 
village  at  dawn,  and  only  five  or  six  were  taken 
prisoners. 

The  total  number  of  the  slain  was  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred.  Chiv- 
ington  reported  that  betwreen  four  hundred  and 
five  hundred  persons  were  killed.  Probably  three 


194  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

hundred,  or  about  one  half  of  the  village,  is  nearer 
the  correct  estimate.  The  survivors  lost  almost 
everything  they  possessed.  The  volunteers  re- 
turned from  the  expedition  laden  with  plunder; 
many  of  them  led  ponies  covered  with  buffalo  robes, 
blankets,  and  other  trophies. 

In  his  telegrams  Chivington  greatly  magnified 
the  details  of  the  "famous  victory,"  and  he  after- 
ward referred  to  it  as  "the  glorious  field  of  Sand 
Creek." 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  penned  December  1, 
Major  Anthony  wrote : 

"We  have  just  had,  day  before  yesterday,  an 
Indian  fight.  We  nearly  annihilated  Black  Kettle's 
band  of  Cheyennes  and  Left  Hand's  Arapahoes. 
...  I  never  saw  more  bravery  displayed  by  any 
set  of  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  by  those 
Indians.  They  would  charge  on  a  whole  company 
singly,  determined  to  kill  some  one  before  killed 
themselves." 

On  his  return  to  Denver,  the  "conquering  hero" 
received  a  royal  welcome.  The  citizens  called  the 
"battle"  a  brilliant  exploit.  On  December  21, 
Chivington  issued  a  Complimentary  Order,  in 
which  he  pronounced  it  a  victory  "unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  Indian  warfare." 

The  massacre  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the 
land.  Many  Easterners  could  scarcely  credit  the 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  195 

shocking  particulars  until  it  was  proved  beyond  a 
doubt  that  the  soldiers  had  acted  with  fiendish  ma- 
lignity. Chivington  was  unsparingly  condemned. 
He  was  censured  by  Congress,  but  the  legislature 
of  Colorado  thanked  him. 

The  government  felt  disgraced  by  the  Sand  Creek 
affair,  and  in  reparation  provided  for  donations  of 
land  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  Arapahoes 
and  Cheyennes  who  had  been  killed  in  the  sangui- 
nary affray.  Also,  the  property  taken  from  the  vil- 
lage was  liberally  paid  for.  The  remnants  of  the 
tribes  were  assigned  another  reservation,  but  were 
in  the  meantime  allowed  to  range  the  country  be- 
tween the  South  Platte  and  the  Arkansas,  away 
from  the  traveled  routes. 

As  time  passed  and  men's  passions  cooled,  Chiv- 
ington got  more  of  blame  and  less  of  praise  for  the 
part  he  took  in  the  sickening  tragedy.  Although 
public  indignation  subsided  to  some  extent,  he  was 
under  a  cloud  all  his  life.  The  old  pioneers  gener 
ally  stood  by  him. 

There  was  some  color  of  justification  for  his  act, 
it  has  been  claimed  in  his  defense,  in  the  fact  that 
the  Indians  wrere  not  all  non-combatants.  A  small 
party  of  young  braves  who  had  been  on  the  warpath 
had  just  returned  to  the  village;  two  or  three  fresh 
scalps  of  murdered  whites  were  found  in  the  lodges, 
together  with  some  older  scalps. 


196  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Chivington  assumed  the  camp  to  be  hostile.  Be- 
lieving the  only  effective  way  of  dealing  with  red- 
skins was  with  powder  and  ball,  he  acted  accord- 
ingly, and  his  course  was  generally  approved  by 
Westerners  who  were  familiar  w^ith  Indian  war- 
fare. If  squaws  and  pappooses  happened  to  be  in 
the  wray  of  flying  bullets,  so  much  the  worse  for 
them. 

There  were  those  who  looked  at  the  matter  in  a 
different  light.  To  deal  out  destruction  to  hos- 
tiles  and  friendlies  alike,  was  a  miscarriage  of 
justice  such  as  General  Curtis  had  never  ordered. 
While  Governor  Evans  thought  the  Arapahoes  and 
Cheyennes  should  be  whipped  into  subjection, 
this  was  overdoing  the  punishment;  he  had  ex- 
pressly directed  to  discriminate  between  the  peace- 
able and  the  warlike.  "Any  man,"  he  said,  "who 
kills  a  hostile  Indian  is  a  patriot,  but  there  are 
Indians  who  are  friendly,  and  to  kill  one  of  these 
will  involve  us  in  greater  difficulties.  It  is  im- 
portant, therefore,  to  fight  only  the  hostile,  and  no 
one  will  be  restrained  from  this." 

Chivington  went  on  the  warpath  after  the  Indian 
fashion.  This  is  the  more  to  be  wondered  at  be- 
cause he  had  been  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  If  he 
hoped  to  gain  promotion  by  winning  a  victory,  he 
was  disappointed.  He  resorted  to  the  tactics  of 
savages  in  surprising  the  camp  and  letting  loose 


THE  SAND  CREEK  FIGHT  197 

the  exasperated  soldiers  upon  the  sleeping  red  men 
who  were  there  to  hunt  buffalo,  as  the  commandant 
at  Fort  Lyon  had  advised.  The  act  was  regarded 
by  his  superiors  as  a  stain  on  his  record,  and  his 
military  career  was  cut  short.  What  he  considered 
a  splendid  achievement,  some  of  his  brother 
officers  denounced  as  a  blunder  and  an  outrage. 

The  consequences  of  the  Sand  Creek  massacre 
were  far-reaching  and  deplorable,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND 

AFTER  the  Chivington  massacre  the  infuriated 
Cheyennes  threw  dosvn  the  gauntlet  of  war  in  open 
defiance  of  the  United  States  government.  Their 
old-time  allies,  the  Arapahoes,  were  with  them; 
the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  also  went  on  the  war- 
path; the  Sioux  and  other  northern  tribes  had 
already  been  fighting. 

Indians  who  had  long  been  loyal  to  the  govern- 
ment were  now  between  two  fires.  The  hostiles 
threatened  to  make  war  on  them  unless  they  joined 
the  league  against  the  whites,  and  they  were  liable 
to  be  brought  to  book  by  the  military  if  any  of  the 
young  men  showed  signs  of  becoming  restive  and 
ugly.  Suspicion  bred  distrust  on  both  sides.  In 
nearly  all  the  bands  the  turbulent  spirits  had 
control. 

Those  who  had  been  wavering  concluded  to 
fight.  The  wrong  done  Black  Kettle  and  his 
camp  was  what  turned  the  scale.  The  accumu- 
lated mass  of  discontent  and  smouldering  resent- 
ment needed  but  a  spark  to  cause  it  to  burst  into 
a  blaze. 

198 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHEH  ISLAND  109 

The  day  after  the  Sand  Creek  fight  Major 
Anthony  said  it  would  "put  a  stop  to  the  Indian 
war,"  but  it  proved  to  be  only  the  prelude  of  a  long 
series  of  horrors.  For  a  while  there  had  been  a 
lull  in  hostilities.  Now  a  fierce  warfare  ensued,  in 
which  the  worst  passions  of  the  red  men  were 
aroused  to  deeds  of  diabolical  ferocity.  While 
avoiding  open  attacks  on  large  bodies  of  cavalry, 
they  wreaked  a  terrible  retribution  on  small  detach- 
ments and  on  ranchers,  freighters,  and  immigrants. 

The  flames  of  farmhouses  lit  up  the  midnight 
skies,  and  the  owners  had  to  flee.  Those  who 
risked  the  trip  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  took  their  lives  in  their  hands. 
Caravans  along  the  Platte  and  the  Smoky  Hill 
were  annihilated,  although  in  some  instances  the 
parties  of  immigrants  stood  off  the  hordes  of 
Indians.  Only  large  companies,  heavily  armed, 
ventured  to  make  the  perilous  journey  across  the 
plains.  Mail  coaches  were  attacked  and  rid- 
dled with  bullets.  Time  and  again  drivers  and 
passengers  were  murdered  and  scalped.  The 
stage  was  an  arsenal  of  weapons,  enough  guns  and 
revolvers  being  loaded  to  fire  fifty  times;  in  conse- 
quence, the  red  men  called  it  a  "fire-box."  All 
the  stage  stations  on  the  line  between  Julesburg 
and  Denver,  except  Hollen  Godfrey's,  were  burnt, 
and  most  of  the  inmates  killed  or  wounded. 


200  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

In  the  winter  of  1864-5  overland  communication 
was  interrupted  for  weeks  in  succession ;  goods  and 
provisions  were  stolen;  in  the  spring  the  Denver- 
ites  were  at  times  without  the  necessaries  of  life, 
and  famine  was  staring  them  in  the  face.  Indian 
raids  were  common  day  and  night,  and  settlers  of 
western  Kansas  and  eastern  Colorado  never  knew 
when  they  were  secure.  Panic  and  consternation 
prevailed  everywhere. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Civil  War  there  were 
secession  agents  among  the  Indians,  stirring  up 
revolt  against  the  authority  of  our  government. 
This  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  onslaught  of  the 
Sioux  in  Minnesota.  Now  the  plains  tribes  had  a 
grievance,  and  the  war  in  the  States  gave  them  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  rise  and  glut  their  ven- 
geance, even  if  they  could  not  recover  their  lands. 
With  but  few  exceptions,  all  the  northern  and 
southern  bands  were  engaged  in  "pernicious  activ- 
ity." For  months  the  military  could  do  little  to 
stop  the  merciless  and  destructive  warfare. 

With  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox  the 
fearful  struggle  between  the  North  and  South  was 
ended.  Now  there  were  plenty  of  soldiers  to  fight 
the  redskins,  and  regiments  were  hurried  to  the 
frontier.  To  the  Indians  it  seemed  that  the  boys 
in  blue  were  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest. 
But  the  savages  moved  about  with  celerity  and 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  201 

managed  to  elude  pursuit.  A  hard  campaign  was 
waged  against  them,  and  yet  little  was  accomplished, 
although  a  force  of  eight  thousand  men  was  put 
into  the  field  to  crush  the  uprising. 

The  results  were  fearful  to  contemplate.  Hun- 
dreds of  soldiers  lost  their  lives,  and  a  great  number 
of  border  settlers  and  plains  travelers  were  slain. 
Scarcely  a  score  of  Indians  were  killed  in  the  skir- 
mishes with  the  troops.  Just  how  many  were  shot 
by  frontiersmen  and  freighters  is  not  known,  prob- 
ably not  very  many. 

The  redskin  is  stealthy  and  wary;  he  seldom 
gives  his  opponent  a  chance  to  reach  him  with 
powder  and  lead.  The  wild  Indians  of  the  West, 
like  the  Bedouins  of  the  Arabian  Desert,  were  ex- 
pert horsemen  and  used  their  ponies  for  a  shield. 
Clutching  the  mane  of  his  steed,  with  one  heel 
thrown  over  the  withers,  a  warrior  would  ride  at 
full  speed  with  only  a  foot  exposed.  At  times  his 
head  would  appear  in  sight,  though  scarcely  long 
enough  to  serve  as  a  target.  Circling  around  his 
foes,  he  fired  under  or  over  the  neck  of  his  pony 
and  was  off  like  the  wind,  returning  as  soon  as  he 
could  load  again.  So  the  casualties  of  the  red  men 
were  comparatively  few. 

In  the  summer  of  1862  the  roving  bands  of  Sioux, 
Ogallalas,  and  other  northern  tribes  gave  the  whites 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  along  the  Platte,  where  there 


202  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

was  a  stream  of  travel  to  and  from  the  settlements 
in  Colorado  In  1865  there  was  a  much  more 
formidable  array  of  hostiles  along  the  main-traveled 
routes  of  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  Colorado.  An 
immense  amount  of  property  was  stolen  and  de- 
stroyed. No  precautions  availed  to  save  stock 
from  the  prowling  Indians.  The  war  cost  the 
government  thirty  million  dollars,  and  in  the  be- 
ginning of  autumn  there  appeared  to  be  no  pros- 
pect of  peace.  Therefore,  other  tactics  were  tried. 

Generals  Harney  and  Sanborn  and  other  peace 
commissioners  were  sent  to  make  treaties  with  the 
hostile  tribes,  and  thus  end  a  useless  and  expensive 
conflict,  in  which  the  lives  of  several  hundred 
plainsmen  and  soldiers  had  been  sacrificed.  To 
placate  the  red  men,  their  old  friends,  Kit  Carson 
and  William  Bent,  were  appointed  members  of  the 
commission.  In  October  a  council  was  held  with 
the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes  on  the  Little  Ar- 
kansas, and  the  matter  of  terms  was  talked  over 
amicably,  hard  as  it  was  for  Black  Kettle  and  the 
other  chiefs  to  bear  the  rankling  memories  of  Sand 
Creek. 

"We  are  willing,  as  representatives  of  the  Presi- 
dent," said  General  Sanborn,  "to  restore  all  the 
property  lost  at  Sand  Creek,  or  its  value.  So 
heartily  do  we  repudiate  the  actions  of  our  soldiers, 
that  we  are  willing  to  give  the  chiefs  in  their  own 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  203 

right  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  to 
hold  as  their  own  forever,  and  to  each  of  the  chil- 
dren and  squaws  who  lost  husbands  or  parents,  we 
are  also  willing  to  give  one  hundred  sixty  acres  of 
land  as  their  own,  to  keep  as  long  as  they  live. 
We  are  also  willing  that  they  receive  all  money 
and  annuities  that  are  due  them,  although  they 
have  been  at  war  with  the  United  States."  He  be- 
lieved the  interests  of  whites  and  Indians  required 
that  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  be  located  on 
another  reservation,  south  of  the  Arkansas. 

"It  will  be  a  very  hard  thing  to  leave  the  country 
that  God  gave  us  on  the  Arkansas,"  said  Little 
Raven,  head  chief  of  the  southern  Arapahoes. 
"Our  friends  are  buried  there,  and  we  hate  to  leave 
these  grounds."  He  added  that  his  people  were 
ready  to  make  peace,  but  wished  to  wait  till  spring 
before  treating  about  the  land.  "The  Indians  did 
nothing  to  the  whites,"  he  observed  with  flashing 
eye,  "until  the  affair  at  Sand  Creek,  but  that  was 
too  bad  to  stand,  and  they  had  to  go  to  war." 

"Although  wrongs  have  been  done  me,  I  live  in 
hopes,"  declared  Black  Kettle  in  his  speech.  He 
stated  that  the  Cheyennes  were  in  dire  distress,  and 
they  desired  the  privilege  of  crossing  the  Arkansas 
to  hunt  buffalo — game  being  scarce  on  the  pro- 
posed reservation. 

At   the   close   of    the   conference   Little   Raven, 


204  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

speaking  for  the  Arapahoes,  asked  that  the  traders 
be  given  the  right  to  sell  firearms  and  ammunition 
to  them.  "I  want  guns  and  powder,"  he  exclaimed 
with  emphasis. 

After  a  long  conference  a  sort  of  understanding 
was  reached,  and  a  peace  was  patched  up  that 
lasted  for  a  short  season. 

The  members  of  the  Peace  Commission  heard 
some  plain  talk  in  the  council  with  the  Kiowas. 
Their  chief,  Little  Mountain,  asserted  their  claim 
to  all  the  country  from  the  North  Platte  to  Texas. 
He  insisted  that  the  whites  were  intruders  on  this 
their  ancient  domain ;  the  Kiowa  had  always  owned 
it;  all  the  creeks  and  rivers,  all  the  deer  and  buffalo 
were  given  him  by  the  Great  Spirit.  "I  want  a  big 
land  for  my  people  to  roam  over,"  he  continued; 
"don't  want  to  stay  long  in  one  place,  but  want  to 
move  about  from  place  to  place." 

This  was  the  burden  of  a  passionate  monologue 
made  by  Eagle  Drinking,  a  Comanche  chief.  "I 
would  like  this  country  let  alone,"  said  he,  "for 
myself  and  my  friends,  the  Kiowas,  to  roam  over." 

In  the  end  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  were 
induced  to  relinquish  their  reservation  around  Fort 
Lyon  and  accept  another,  partly  in  southern  Kansas 
and  partly  in  Indian  Territory.  The  Kiowas  also 
gave  up  their  country  in  southeastern  Colorado. 

For  a  year  or  so  peace  prevailed.     Then  war 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  205 

was  renewed  by  the  Sioux  on  the  North  Platte.  Its 
influence  was  felt  among  the  Indians  on  the  Ar- 
kansas. Some  of  the  northern  Cheyennes,  as  was 
their  custom,  visited  the  Cheyennes  in  southern 
Kansas.  Border  settlers  and  freighters  on  the 
Santa  Fe  Trail  became  nervous  and  afraid;  the 
commanders  at  forts  and  military  posts  grew  anx- 
ious; trifles  were  noticed,  and  construed  as  hostile 
purposes  on  the  part  of  the  red  men. 

The  establishment  by  the  government  of  a  line 
of  military  posts  on  the  road  to  Montana  was  one 
cause  of  dissension  that  led  to  an  outbreak.  The 
Indians  asserted  that  this  would  drive  the  game 
out  of  their  hunting  grounds.  While  opposing 
the  extension  of  the  road,  in  the  latter  half  of 
1866,  they  are  known  to  have  killed  five  officers, 
ninety-one  privates,  and  fifty-eight  citizens,  besides 
wounding  many  more. 

The  close  of  the  year  was  made  memorable  by 
one  of  the  saddest  tragedies  connected  with  our 
Indian  history.  On  December  21,  1866,  a  large 
force  of  Sioux  under  Red  Cloud  swooped  down 
upon  a  party  of  soldiers  and  laborers  within  a  few 
miles  of  Fort  Phil  Kearny  and  killed  ninety-four 
men;  not  one  of  the  ill-fated  band  was  left  to 
tell  the  tale.  Colonel  Fetterman  was  in  command, 
and  this  disaster  is  known  as  the  Fetterman 
massacre. 


200  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  troops  were  provoked  to  retaliate,  and  on 
April  19  a  command  burnt  a  peaceful  Cheyenne 
village  in  western  Kansas.  The  Cheyennes  flew 
to  arms,  and  a  bloody  war  followed,  costing  the 
lives  of  over  three  hundred  soldiers  and  citizens. 
All  through  the  summer  the  hostiles  hovered  along 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  and  impeded  its  con- 
struction. They  foresaw  that  the  iron  horse  would 
be  an  effective  agent  in  their  subjugation.  At 
times  there  was  severe  fighting,  and  matters  as- 
sumed so  alarming  an  aspect  that  General  Phil 
Sheridan  was  sent  to  take  command  of  the  troops. 
In  the  summer  of  1868  he  made  his  headquarters 
at  Fort  Hays,  the  western  terminus  of  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railway. 

The  war  dragged  its  slow  length  along.  The 
field  of  operations  covered  an  immense  territory, 
and  much  time  was  consumed  in  concentrating 
troops,  which  would  gather  only  in  time  to  learn 
that  the  bands  of  warriors  had  betaken  themselves 
elsewhere.  Expeditions  were  sent  out  under 
Generals  Hancock  and  Custer  to  various  points 
in  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  while  General  Frank 
Hall,  then  Acting  Governor  of  Colorado,  raised  a 
force  of  volunteers  to  guard  the  territory.  The 
Indians  scattered  and  united,  as  occasion  required. 
Not  burdened  by  artillery  and  baggage,  they  could 
move  faster  than  the  troops,  and  kept  out  of  their 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHEH  ISLAND 


207 


way.     The   process   of   wearing  the  redskins   out 
was  a  slow  one,  and  extremely  costly. 

Notwithstanding  the  dangers  of  life  in  the  West, 
the  incoming  tide  of  settlers  grew  larger  and  larger. 
People  would  not  be  deterred  from  coming  by 
the  terrible  experiences  of  others.  The  stage 
stations  were  rebuilt 
and  occupied  by  new- 
comers. Ranchers 
braved  the  risks  inci- 
dental to  their  calling ; 
neighbors  worked  in 
squads,  taking  their 
guns  into  the  field. 
In  this  way  some  of 
the  crops  were  put  in 
and  harvested. 

Time  and  again  the 
expeditions  of  Fed- 
eral troops  failed. 
Their  efforts  to  find 
marauding  redskins 
were  futile.  So  a  corps  of  fifty  scouts  were 
enlisted,  and  Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth  was 
placed  at  their  head.  They  were  all  picked  fron- 
tiersmen, familiar  with  the  country.  Many  of 
them  were  old  soldiers,  having  seen  service  in 
the  Civil  War.  A  better  body  of  fighters  could 


COL.   GEORGE   A.   FORSYTH 


208  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

scarcely  be  found  in  the  whole  world.  They  were 
mounted  on  the  finest  horses  that  could  be  obtained. 
They  carried  in  their  haversacks  only  a  limited 
quantity  of  rations,  and  had  no  superfluous  bag- 
gage. Leader  and  men  were  admirably  fitted  for 
the  pursuit  of  hostile  savages.  Once  on  the  trail, 
there  was  to  be  no  pause  until  they  were  in  striking 
distance  of  the  redskins,  who  generally  had  no 
trouble  in  outdistancing  the  regular  army. 

In  September  Forsyth  and  his  daring  scouts 
wrere  detailed  for  duty  on  the  Republican  River. 
After  following  the  trail  of  Indians  for  several  days, 
they  camped  on  the  evening  of  the  16th  near  a 
little  island  in  the  Arickaree  fork  of  the  river.  They 
were  just  across  the  eastern  border  of  Colorado,  in 
what  is  now  Yuma  County,  not  far  from  Beecher. 
The  stream  was  only  a  wide  sand-bed,  down  which 
flowed  a  thread  of  water  two  inches  deep.  The 
island  was  twenty  yards  wide  and  nearly  one 
hundred  yards  long.  The  gravelly  soil  was  partly 
covered  with  a  low  growth  of  bushes.  Game  had 
been  scarce  in  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Re- 
publican country,  and  the  detachment  had  rations 
for  only  one  day  more. 

At  dawn  the  guard  gave  the  alarm,  "Indians !" 
Instantly  every  man  sprang  to  his  feet  and  grasped 
his  rifle.  Up  dashed  six  yelling  redskins,  waving 
buffalo  robes,  rattling  bells,  and  firing  guns,  in 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  209 

the  hope  of  stampeding  the  horses.  In  this  they 
failed;  the  men  clung  fast  to  the  lariats  of  their 
mounts,  and  only  seven  animals  got  away. 

Then  came  the  order  to  saddle  up.  Scarcely 
had  it  been  obeyed  when  the  watchful  guide, 
Sharpe  Grover,  exclaimed  in  astonishment:  "O 
heavens,  look  at  the  Indians !"  Over  the  hills  and 
from  every  direction  poured  swarms  of  mounted 
warriors,  adorned  with  eagles'  feathers  and  in  full 
war  paint.  Whooping  and  yelling,  the  excited 
braves  bore  dowrn  upon  the  little  detachment  that 
they  had  surrounded. 

Forsyth  realized  that  they  were  trapped,  and  he 
ordered  the  scouts  to  take  up  their  position  on  the 
island.  Here  they  would  have  the  advantage  of 
fighting  under  cover  of  the  bushes,  while  the  In- 
dians w^ould  be  obliged  to  charge  across  the  sandy 
watercourse.  "Tie  your  horses  to  the  bushes  in 
a  circle,  throw  yourselves  upon  the  ground  behind 
them,  and  make  the  best  fight  of  your  lives,"  rang 
out  the  words  of  the  valiant  leader.  In  the 
midst  of  a  galling  fire  from  the  redskins  his  orders 
were  obeyed. 

Three  sharpshooters  lay  dowrn  in  the  grass  at 
the  north  end  of  the  island;  the  others  in  a  circle 
dropped  behind  the  barricade  of  animals  and 
opened  a  steady,  well-directed  fire  upon  the  nearest 
braves.  Hundreds  of  redskins  were  in  sight,  and 


210  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

many  of  them  were  armed  with  repeating  rifles. 
They  had  secured  breechloaders,  and  knew  how  to 
use  them.  After  the  fight  thousands  of  empty 
shells  of  Spencer  and  Henry  rifles  were  found  on 
the  ground  occupied  by  the  Indians. 

The  foremost  warriors  threw  themselves  from 
their  horses  and  crawled  up  within  easy  firing 
distance,  picking  oft*  men  and  horses.  Some  of 
them  were  so  near  the  scouts  could  hear  them  talk; 
they  could  swear  in  forceful  English.  In  the  ter- 
rific fire  of  these  sharpshooters  every  one  of  the 
horses  was  shot  down,  and  more  than  a  score  of 
the  scouts  were  killed  or  wounded. 

Forsyth  was  hit  by  a  Minie  ball,  but  he  continued 
in  command.  "Fire  slowly,"  he  directed,  "aim 
well,  keep  yourselves  covered,  don't  throw  away 
a  single  cartridge."  Lying  propped  on  his  elbow, 
he  saw  everything  going  on  and  bore  the  intense 
pain  of  his  wound  without  a  murmur.  Another 
bullet  shattered  his  leg  between  the  knee  and  ankle. 
The  surgeon,  Dr.  Moores,  while  bending  over  the 
colonel,  was  struck  in  the  temple  and  mortally 
wounded.  A  few  minutes  later  Forsyth  received  a 
scalp  wound. 

Meanwhile  the  command  had  been  busy  with 
their  knives,  digging  in  the  sand  and  throwing  up 
a  breastwork  of  mounds.  As  they  took  aim  and 
fired  at  the  advancing  savages  they  had  the  satis- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHEll  ISLAND  211 

faction  of  seeing  many  a  warrior  bite  the  dust  or 
drag  himself  off  wounded. 

Two  hours  of  this  hot  work  passed.  The  men 
shielded  themselves  as  best  they  could,  and  did  so 
effective  shooting  that  their  assailants  became  angry 
and  derisive.  They  cursed  the  whites  for  skulking 
like  wrolves  and  dared  them  to  come  out  in  the 
open  and  fight  like  men.  The  hills  were  thronged 
with  squaws,  chanting  war  songs  and  nerving  the 
bucks  for  battle.  The  medicine  men  rode  around 
just  outside  the  ring  of  braves,  beating  drums  and 
encouraging  the  young  men  to  fight  courageously. 
The  Indians  outnumbered  the  men  in  the  rifle-pits 
twenty  to  one,  and  yet  they  could  not  silence  the 
fire  of  the  little  party.  Every  one  of  the  scouts  in 
condition  to  fight  was  fighting,  loading  and  firing, 
while  their  fallen  comrades  lay  near  them  bleeding 
and  dying.  Stout  hearts  were  needed  for  this 
work,  but  a  worse  trial  was  before  the  brave  band. 

Shortly  after  nine  o'clock  a  portion  of  the  red- 
skins drew  off.  The  entire  fighting  force  was  up- 
ward of  a  thousand  braves,  composed  principally 
of  Arapahoes,  Brules,  Sioux,  Cheyennes,  and  "Dog 
Soldiers."  Of  the  Dog  Soldiers,  the  banditti  of 
the  plains,  there  were  about  one  hundred  twenty, 
and  they  had  been  kept  in  reserve  for  a  final  charge. 
With  them  were  some  two  hundred  other  Indians, 
selected  for  their  prowess  and  their  magnificent 


212  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

physique.  This  body  of  superb  warriors  was 
headed  by  the  war  chief,  Roman  Nose.  This  able 
leader  was  chief  of  a  northern  band  of  Arapahoes, 
numbering  more  than  a  hundred  lodges.  In  the 
fall  of  1864  they  were  under  the  care  of  the  agent 
at  Fort  Laramie,  and  for  a  while  they  were  hunt- 
ing on  the  Cache  a  la  Poudre.  They  remained 
friendly  some  time  after  the  Sand  Creek  affair,  then 
they  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  belligerents, 

Roman  Nose  was  a  splendid -looking  Indian. 
Over  six  feet  tall  and  straight  as  an  arrowr,  he  had 
a  perfect  figure.  The  bronze  muscles  of  his  arms 
stood  out  like  a  blacksmith's,  and  were  as  strong. 
He  had  watched  the  military  maneuvers  of  our 
cavalry  and  was  an  adept  in  handling  large  bodies 
of  mounted  braves.  As  a  war  chief  he  easily  di- 
vided the  honors  with  the  noted  Red  Cloud. 

Retiring  to  a  gully  out  of  rifle  range,  Roman 
Nose  formed  the  three  hundred  braves  in  battle 
line.  They  had  stripped  nearly  naked  and  were 
hideously  painted.  At  the  word  of  command  they 
started  their  horses  into  a  swift  trot,  while  the 
skirmishers  near  the  island  pressed  closer  and  de- 
livered a  fire  so  searching  and  continuous  that  the 
beleagured  men  dared  not  expose  a  hand  or  head. 

On  the  phalanx  came,  six  ranks  deep,  with  a 
front  of  about  sixty  warriors.  They  were  superbly 
mounted  and  moved  forward  with  precision,  ex- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  213 

peeling  to  ride  down  and  annihilate  the  handful  of 
men,  now  hardly  more  than  thirty  effective  fighters. 
It  was  a  splendid  sight  when  they  swrept  into  view 
at  the  peal  of  an  artillery  bugle. 

Roman  Nose  rode  a  large  chestnut  horse  that 
went  careering  five  paces  ahead  of  the  line.  A 
crimson  sash  was  knotted  around  his  waist,  and 
his  feet  were  encased  in  buckskin  moccasins.  His 
head  was  crowned  with  a  great  war-bonnet  of 
eagles'  feathers,  and  herons'  plumes  trailed  behind 
him  in  the  wind.  He  shook  his  clinched  fist  in 
defiance  at  the  small  company  of  scouts  and  uttered 
a  few  impassioned  words  in  hearing  of  the  warriors. 

The  hills  and  bluffs  a  little  back  from  the  river's 
bank  were  covered  with  women  and  children  con- 
fident of  victory.  He  glanced  at  them  an  instant 
as  a  chorus  of  wild  cries  went  up.  Then  the  as- 
saulting column  of  horsemen,  brandishing  their 
guns,  broke  into  a  gallop. 

Roman  Nose  led  the  charge  proudly  and  grandly, 
holding  his  rifle  with  his  left  hand.  Suddenly  he 
threw  his  head  back  and,  with  the  open  palm  of  his 
right  hand,  he  struck  his  mouth,  emitting  a  loud 
war-whoop  that  was  caught  up  by  hundreds  of 
braves.  Instantly  it  was  answered  by  yells  of 
exultation  from  the  hills,  and  the  air  palpitated 
with  the  awful  din  of  shouts. 

Though   disabled   by   his   wounds,    the   gallant 


214  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Forsyth  made  ready  for  the  impetuous  attack.  All 
the  weapons  were  loaded.  The  guns  and  re- 
volvers of  the  dead  and  wounded  men  were  placed 
near  the  best  shots  in  the  besieged  party,  who  lay 
behind  the  rampart  and  coolly  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  yelling  warriors.  The  fire  of  the  dismounted 
Indians  was  slackened  for  fear  of  hitting  their  own 
braves  as  they  drew  near  to  the  island. 

"Now!"  called  out  Forsyth.  "Now!"  repeated 
G rover  and  Lieutenant  Beecher.  Undaunted,  the 
savages  hurled  themselves  forward,  while  the  scouts, 
springing  to  their  knees,  cast  their  eyes  along  the 
barrels  of  their  rifles  and  each  singled  out  an 
Indian  for  a  target.  The  sharp  reports  of  more 
than  thirty  guns  rang  out  simultaneously. 

Down  tumble  the  dusky  riders,  horses  stumble, 
the  line  falters.  The  deadly  fire  of  the  scouts 
throws  the  savage  horde  into  confusion.  Roman 
Nose  rallies  them,  and  they  make  another  charge. 
The  steeds  plunge  into  the  river  bed  and  almost 
halt  as  their  hoofs  sink  into  the  moist  sand.  This 
is  the  scouts'  opportunity,  and  another  hail  of 
leaden  missiles  strikes  the  chests  and  heads  of  the 
foremost  Indians.  The  red  men  reel  and  fall; 
the  advance  is  checked;  the  wounded  lurch  side- 
ways from  their  ponies,  and  their  comrades  bear 
their  bodies  to  the  rear.  Riding  here  and  there 
among  the  demoralized  riflemen,  the  chief  forms 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  215 

the  fighters  into  line,  and  they  dash  forward  again 
and  again.  The  parapet  blazes  forth  destruction. 

In  the  fifth  charge  Roman  Nose  goes  down,  and 
his  blood  reddens  the  sand  of  the  river  bed.  The 
chief  medicine  man  bravely  leads  the  left  wing  of 
Indian  riflemen  forward  to  the  island,  and  they 
ride  up  to  the  very  foot  of  the  entrenchments.  He 
is  shot  down  within  ten  feet  of  the  scouts.  A 
ringing  cheer  goes  up  from  the  whites  as  he  falls. 
The  final  volley  is  too  much  for  the  warriors,  who 
lie  in  heaps,  men  and  horses  meeting  the  last 
summons  together;  the  survivors  break  and  scatter 
beyond  rifle  range;  they  go  wrhirling  back,  dazed 
and  beaten,  while  the  air  is  filled  with  the  wrails 
of  squaws  and  old  men  mourning  for  the  great  war 
chief  and  the  brave  medicine  man  laid  low  in  death. 

The  fall  of  Roman  Nose  was  wThat  saved  the 
little  band  of  whites  from  the  doom  of  utter  ex- 
tinction. Without  a  leader,  the  warriors'  courage 
failed  at  the  last  moment ;  they  shrank  from  a  hand- 
to-hand  encounter  with  the  desperate  men  in  the 
rifle-pits. 

The  day  was  won,  but  at  what  a  cost !  Twenty- 
three  of  the  heroes  were  dead  or  wounded.  Among 
the  slain  was  the  trusty  Lieutenant  Beecher,  after 
whom  the  island  has  since  been  named. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  mounted 
warriors  made  a  furious  rush,  and  another  at  sun- 


210  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

set;  neither  was  so  daring  and  impetuous  as  the 
charges  led  by  Roman  Nose.  Each  time  the  attack- 
ing party  was  repulsed  just  before  reaching  the  foot 
of  the  island.  This  was  the  last  attempt  to  carry 
the  island  by  storm;  the  Indians  dared  not  ap- 
proach the  parapet  belching  flame  and  smoke. 
Their  plan  now  was  to  starve  out  the  determined 
defenders.  This  expectation  was  not  realized. 

That  night  two  good  scouts,  familiar  with  the 
plains,  volunteered  to  try  to  make  their  way  through 
the  cordon  of  Indians  and  proceed  on  foot  to  Fort 
Wallace  for  relief.  With  a  compass  and  map,  they 
started  on  the  long  tramp  of  ninety  miles  through 
a  desert  country  thickly  infested  by  their  watchful 
enemies.  Traveling  by  night  and  hiding  by  day, 
they  covered  the  ground  in  safety,  reaching  the 
post  four  days  later. 

In  the  night  following  the  fight  a  wrelcome  rain 
fell,  and  the  wounded  on  the  island  were  rendered 
less  feverish.  Saddles  were  piled  up  to  strengthen 
the  earthworks.  The  besieged  men  got  a  scant 
supply  of  water  by  digging  a  few  feet  below  the 
surface.  They  had  nothing  to  eat  except  horse 
and  mule  meat,  and  they  cut  off  large  steaks  to  be 
buried  in  the  loose  soil.  The  one  surgeon  of  the 
party  lay  unconscious  on  the  ground,  with  a  bullet 
in  the  brain,  and  there  was  no  one  to  dress  the 
wounds  of  Forsyth  and  his  suffering  comrades. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  217 

The  following  day  dismounted  warriors  at  a 
safe  distance  kept  up  a  desultory  fire,  while  the 
women  chanted  death  songs  for  the  unreturning 
braves.  At  dark  the  skirmishers  drew  off,  having 
done  little  damage  to  the  besieged  frontiersmen, 
wrho  were  now  well  protected.  On  the  night  of 
September  18  two  more  scouts  were  sent  out;  in 
a  short  time  they  were  driven  back. 

Forsyth  and  his  party  remained  on  the  defensive 
another  day.  The  Indians  annoyed  them  on  all 
sides  and  tried  to  draw  their  fire,  with  the  hope 
that  the  whites  would  exhaust  their  supply  of 
ammunition.  The  scouts  were  too  knowing  to 
fall  into  this  trap;  they  made  every  cartridge 
count.  As  a  last  resort  the  Indians  used  a  white 
flag  and  endeavored  to  hold  a  parley  with  the 
commander,  but  in  vain.  The  main  body  of  red- 
skins now  withdrew,  and  under  cover  of  darkness 
two  men  set  forth  with  a  despatch  to  the  comman- 
dant at  Fort  Wallace.  As  they  did  not  return,  the 
little  band  wrere  hopeful  of  succor. 

Day  after  day  passed,  and  the  discomforts  of  the 
situation  told  on  the  wounded  and  famished  men. 
The  stench  of  the  decaying  animals  in  a  short  time 
became  intolerable.  Rather  than  eat  the  putrid 
flesh,  some  of  the  soldiers  endured  the  cravings 
of  hunger.  Though  suffering  intensely,  Forsyth 
never  despaired ;  he  believed  it  was  only  a  matter 


218  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

of  a  few  days  when  relief  would  come.  With  one 
voice  the  survivors  who  had  escaped  hurt  declared 
that  they  would  stay  and  die  together,  if  need  be, 
rather  than  desert  their  helpless  companions.  By 
this  time  eight  were  dead,  and  twenty  disabled  by 
wounds.  The  others,  though  faint  and  weak, 
were  undaunted  to  the  last. 

On  the  morning  of  September  25  the  sun  rose 
bright.  The  warriors  had  disappeared.  Some 
dark  moving  figures  faintly  showed  in  the  horizon 
of  the  solitary  plain.  To  the  joy  of  the  weary 
watchers,  these  proved  to  be  United  States  troops. 
There  were  tears  in  the  glaring  eyes  of  the  suffer- 
ing men  when  the  detachment  of  cavalry  under 
Colonel  Carpenter  rode  up.  The  courage  and 
spirit  of  the  heroic  scouts  had  pulled  them 
through. 

Near  by  were  discovered  the  bodies  of  seventeen 
Indians;  the  others  had  been  removed  in  the  battle. 
The  numerous  pools  of  dark  and  clotted  blood 
soaking  the  sand  showed  where  the  warriors  had 

o 

gone  down,  stubbornly  and  valorously  fighting. 
At  least  seventy-five  had  been  sent  to  the  Happy 
Hunting  Grounds.  The  number  of  their  wounded 
has  never  been  learned. 

On  August  7,  1868,  Black  Kettle  with  the  rem- 
nant of  his  braves — about  forty  half-chid,  sullen 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND  219 

savages — rode  up  to  Fort  Hays,  claiming  to  be 
good  Indians.  A  powwow  was  held,  the  pipe  of 
peace  was  smoked,  and  Black  Kettle  made  a 
speech.  With  dramatic  gestures  he  poured  forth 
professions  of  friendship  and  described  the  mis- 
erable plight  of  the  blanket  Indians  of  his  band. 
He  was  a  grand  specimen  of  physical  manhood, 
and  despite  his  rags  made  an  impressive  up- 
pearance. 

"Black  Kettle  loves  his  white  soldier  brothers," 
he  said.  "Six  moons  have  come  and  gone,  and 
there  has  been  no  rain;  the  wind  blows  hot  from 
the  south  all  day  and  all  night;  the  ground  is  hot 
and  cracked  open;  the  grass  is  burned  up;  the 
buffalo  wallows  are  all  dry;  the  streams  are  dry, 
and  game  is  scarce.  Black  Kettle  is  poor,  and  his 
band  is  hungry.  He  asks  the  white  soldiers  for 
his  braves  and  their  squaws  and  pappooses.  The 
Sioux  have  gone  on  the  warpath,  but  Black  Kettle 
will  not  follow  their  trail.  All  other  Indians  may 
take  the  war  trail,  but  Black  Kettle  will  forever 
keep  friendship  with  his  white  brothers." 

The  braves  sitting  in  a  circle  showed  their  ap- 
proval of  his  words  with  affirmative  nods  and 
grunts.  Then  the  officers  present  shook  hands  with 
the  chief  and  congratulated  him  on  his  speech. 
When  the  performance  was  over,  the  commissary 
department  dealt  out  bacon,  flour,  beans,  and 


220 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


coffee  to  the  delighted  warriors.  That  evening 
they  had  a  royal  feast.  In  the  morning  they  had 
disappeared. 

A  week  or  so  later  a  treaty  was  ratified  between 
the  government  and  prominent  chiefs  of  the  Arapa- 

hoesand  Cheyennes. 
When  they  received 
their  annuity  goods 
Major  Wyncoop, 
the  Indian  agent, 
yielded  to  Little 
Raven's  demand  for 
arms  and  ammuni- 
tion. Already  Black 
Kettle  was  off  on 
his  last  raid,  and 
ere  long  the  other 
braves  wrent  on  the 
warpath. 

General  Custer 
was  sent  after  them. 
He  was  placed  in 
command  of  a  regi- 
ment of  raw  recruits,  pitted  against  "the  best  light 
cavalry  in  the  world."  He  spent  three  weeks  at 
Fort  Dodge,  on  the  Arkansas  River,  training  his 
men  in  riding,  and  shooting  with  the  rifle;  then 
he  started  southward  for  a  winter  campaign 


CURLEY,  GENERAL  OUSTER'S 
SCOUT 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEECHER  ISLAND 


221 


against  the  hostiles.  The  war  parties  had  settled 
down  in  their  villages  in  the  valley  of  the  Wash- 
ita  River.  With  the  help  of  some  Osage  scouts 
Custer  located  them.  The  cavalry,  eight  hun- 
dred strong,  set  out  in  a  blinding  snowstorm,  and 
after  a  toilsome  night  march  they  surprised  Black 
Kettle's  camp  o  n 
the  morning  of 
November  27,  at 
daybreak. 

Thefourcolumns 
surrounded  and  at- 
tacked the  village 
on  all  sides.  The 
tall  white  lodges 
stood  in  a  heavy 
timber.  The  In- 
dians were  caught 


CHIEF  RED  CLOUD 


napping,  but  fought 
with  desperation, 
seeking  cover  behind  trees  and  under  the  banks  of 
the  river.  Black  Kettle  and  more  than  a  hundred 
warriors  were  cut  down  in  the  first  onset.  The 
squadrons  were  then  attacked  by  bands  of  Kiowas 
and  other  tribes  encamped  near  by,  and  the  battle 
raged  nearly  all  day.  Besides  Black  Kettle,  fifteen 
chiefs  were  found  among  the  slain.  Fifty-three 
squaws  and  children  were  captured. 


222  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

By  a  bold  stroke  of  diplomacy  Custer  seized 
Lone  Wolf  and  Satanta,  the  celebrated  Kiowa 
chief  whose  fiery  eloquence  had  won  for  him  the 
sobriquet  "Orator  of  the  Plains."  Through  the 
influence  of  these  two  chiefs  the  Kiowas  came  in 
and  settled  on  their  reservation  around  Fort  Cobb 
in  the  Indian  Territory. 

It  took  five  years  more  of  fighting  to  bring  the 
Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  to  terms.  Then,  chas- 
tised and  humbled,  the  remnants  of  these  Colorado 
tribes  were  placed  on  a  reservation  in  the  Indian 
Territory,  now  Oklahoma. 


CHAPTER  XII 

TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES 

FROM  time  immemorial  the  Utes  (or  Utahs)  had 
lived  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  and  Utah. 
The  latter  state  was  named  after  them. 

The  Utes  desired  the  mountains  for  themselves. 
They  resented  intrusion,  either  by  white  men  or 
by  plains  Indians.  Here  and  there  a  trapper  of 
the  early  days  mixed  with  the  tribesmen  of  the 
Rockies  and  formed  friendships  with  them.  Even 
then  he  was  not  secure.  Familiar  as  he  was  with 
their  customs  and  habits,  he  incurred  the  risk  of 
being  murdered.  A  considerable  number  of  the 
traders  who  ventured  into  the  Rocky  Mountains 
sooner  or  later  lost  their  lives,  either  by  treachery 
or  by  violence,  at  the  hands  of  the  red  men. 

No  amount  of  intercourse  with  savages  gives  a 
white  man  perfect  knowledge  of  them.  Their  ways 
of  thinking  are  different  from  ours,  and  even  the 
most  experienced  "squaw  man"  could  not  always 
foretell  what  his  red  friends  might  do  next. 

In  the  early  fifties  the  seven  principal  bands  of 
Utes  in  the  central  and  western  portions  of  Colo- 
rado numbered  some  ten  thousand.  A  half  cen- 


224 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


tiny  later  they  had 
been  reduced  to 
about  twenty -six 
hundred,  including 
those  on  the  TJinta 
and  Green  River 
reservations  in 
northeastern  Utah. 
The  Colorado 
Utes  waged  a  re- 
lentless warfare 
against  the  Nava- 
joes  of  New  Mex- 
ico. The  Arapa- 
hoes  and  Chey- 
ennes  of  the  plains 
were  their  inveterate  enemies,  and  made  frequent 
incursions  into  the  mountain  parks  and  fastnesses 
for  ponies  and  scalps.  The  Utes  retaliated  by 
making  raids  upon  their  hostile  neighbors,  some- 
times going  as  far  eastward  as  the  Kansas  line. 

While  many  Ute  Indians  were  peaceably  inclined 
toward  the  whites,  some  of  them  were  so  ruffianly 
that  they  got  the  name  of  "Thugs  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains."  Not  all  of  them  deserved  to  be  so 
called.  They  certainly  were  not  guilty  of  some  of 
the  outrages  laid  at  their  doors.  There  were  rene- 
gade white  men  who  committed  depredations  and 


OURAY.  CHIEF   OF  THE  UTES 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE 


225 


murders.  The  Ar- 
apahoes  frequently 
penetrated  the 
mountains,  and 
doubtless  they  per- 
petrated a  number 
of  the  crimes  with 
which  the  Utes  were 
charged. 

For  one  thing,  it 
is  not  true  that  the 
Indians  set  fire  to 
the  mountain  for- 
ests and  destroyed 
millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  timber.  Nearly  all  of  the  forest  fires  of 
1879  were  caused  by  the  carelessness  of  white  men. 
Reports  of  other  malicious  acts  were  either  exag- 
gerated or  untrue.  At  the  same  time  it  is  a  fact 
that  some  of  the  redskins  when  drunk  were  a  source 
of  terror  to  the  settlers  in  the  mountain  valleys 
and  on  the  plains.  The  traders  who  sold  them 
the  "fire-water"  should  be  held  partly  account- 
able for  the  evil  deeds  done  by  the  intoxicated  In- 
dians. Whites  also  were  unscrupulous  enough  to 
sell  Indians  firearms  and  ammunition,  thus  putting 
it  in  the  power  of  the  red  man  to  harm  settlers  and 
immigrants. 


JIM  BAKER 


226 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


Ouray  (The  Arrow)  was  the  ablest  Ute  chief 
known  to  history.  His  record  is  an  exceedingly 
creditable  one.  He  ruled  his  people,  the  Tabe- 
quaches,  with  a  rod  of  iron,  but  he  had  their  inter- 
ests at  heart,  and  they  deferred  to  his  superior 
judgment.  This  chief  realized  the  superlative 
folly  of  measuring  arms  with  the  United  States 

troops.  Time 
and  again  in 
the  Ute  coun- 
cils his  voice 
was  raised 
against  w  a  r 
upon  the 
whites.  His 
influence  ex- 
tended far  be- 
yond his  own 
band,  and  he 
was  sometimes  called  "Head  Chief  of  the  Ute  Na- 
tion." However,  his  authority  was  not  recognized 
by  some  of  the  southern  Utes.  "Colorado  owes  so 
much  to  this  Indian  statesman  that  the  debt  bids 
fair  to  remain  uncanceled." 

Of  a  very  different  type  was  Chief  Canache, 
whose  band  had  its  reservation  in  the  Cochetopa 
Hills.  His  braves  had  the  reputation  of  being 
bad  men. 


JIM  BAKER'S  FORTLIKE  HOME 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  227 

Some,  not  all,  of  the  White  River  Utes  were  about 
as  rough  and  quarrelsome  as  any  of  the  red  men 
with  whom  our  nation  has  had  trouble.  Jim 
Baker,  wrho  erected  a  log  house  in  northwestern 
Colorado  in  the  early  forties,  found  them  very 
bothersome  neighbors.  He  built  a  lookout  station 
above  his  cabin,  where  he  could  observe  the  coming 
of  hostiles  and  prepare  for  them.  He  had  many  a 
brush  with  redskins,  and  more  than  one  narrow  es- 
cape from  destruction.  The  White  Rivers  were 
certainly  as  wild  and  fierce  in  the  seventies  as  in  the 
forties.  They  had  the  roaming  habits  of  their 
ancestors,  and  were  not  disposed  to  stay  on  their 
reservation. 

It  should  be  said  that  there  were  Utes  who  be- 
haved fairly  well.  Occasionally  a  chief  could  be 
found  who  had  visited  Washington  and  received  a 
medal  from  the  President,  or  a  three-dollar  watch. 
They  knew  the  power  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, and  they  hesitated  to  defy  the  authority  of 
Uncle  Sam.  Piah,  chief  of  the  Middle  Park  band, 
was  a  clever  man  in  his  way,  and,  among  other 
commendable  qualities  was  his  good-will  toward 
the  whites.  Chief  Washington  was  a  cunning, 
ugly  scamp.  Colorow  was  a  big,  blustering  bully. 
Jack  (sometimes  called  "Captain"  Jack)  was 
probably  not  so  bad  as  he  has  been  painted.  Chief 
Medicine  Man  Johnson  was  a  despicable,  treacher- 


228  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

ous  specimen  of  a  redskin.  Douglass  was,  perhaps, 
the  cleverest  and  meanest  of  them  all.  His  elo- 
quence gave  him  great  influence  in  councils.  He 
voiced  the  general  sentiment  of  the  Utes  when  he 
said:  "White  man  work;  Indian  no  work,  but 
hunt." 

Treaties  and  agreements  with  the  Utes  had  been 
broken  right  and  left  by  the  United  States,  and  the 
Indians  had  been  badly  treated  by  individuals  who 
had  trespassed  on  their  lands.  Soon  after  the 
discovery  of  gold,  the  valleys  and  gulches  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  swarmed  with  prospectors  and 
miners.  Although  the  Indian  title  to  the  land  had 
not  been  extinguished,  the  gold-hunters  settled 
down  upon  the  Ute  heritage.  The  whites  were 
warned  off  and,  in  some  instances,  fired  upon  by  .the 
Utes.  The  miners  paid  the  Indians  back  in  their 
own  coin.  "When  they  came  prowling  around  our 
camp,"  said  one,  "we  shot  them  down  like  wolves." 

The  government  tried  to  smooth  matters  and 
prevent  an  open  rupture  by  distributing  presents 
among  the  wards  of  the  nation.  In  1863  the 
Tabequaches  ceded  a  part  of  their  lands  in  central 
Colorado,  where  the  mining-camps  were  located. 
There  was  no  serious  difficulty  with  this  tribe. 

In  1868  Governor  Hunt,  Kit  Carson,  and  N.  G. 
Taylor  arranged  a  treaty  with  the  southern  Utes, 
who  were  induced  to  relinquish  a  part  of  their 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  IJTES  229 

ancient  domain.  A  broad  strip  in  the  southwest 
part  of  the  territory  was  to  be  theirs  forever;  it 
extended  as  far  east  and  north  as  Pagosa  Springs. 
At  that  time  the  various  Ute  reservations  on  the 
western  slope  included,  roughly  speaking,  about 
two  elevenths  of  Colorado. 

Again  and  again  did  miners  and  herders  intrude 
upon  the  reservations  in  the  San  Juan  country,  and 
the  patience  of  the  Utes  was  sorely  tried.  Ouray 
was  a  firm  friend  of  the  whites,  and  he  counseled 
the  dissatisfied  bucks  to  be  peaceable,  notwith- 
standing the  injustice  done  them.  The  govern- 
ment used  his  influence  in  the  control  of  unruly 
warriors,  and  paid  him  one  thousand  dollars  a  year 
for  it. 

Ours  is  a  big  government,  and  many  things  are 
neglected  by  it.  The  claims  of  white  men,  as  well 
as  those  of  red  men,  have  to  wait.  Commissioners 
and  Indian  agents  made  promises,  but  Congress 
was  slow  in  providing  appropriations.  The  Ute, 
not  knowing  how  affairs  are  managed  at  Washing- 
ton, could  not  understand  the  delays  occasioned  by 
red  tape.  When  years  passed  before  he  received 
the  money  due  him,  he  thought  deception  was  be- 
ing practiced  upon  him.  Under  the  circumstances 
the  patience  and  forbearance  of  the  untutored 
savage  was  remarkable. 

By  the  terms  of  the  Brunot  Treaty  of  1873  the 


230  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Utes  were  to  receive  annually  the  sum  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  Years  passed,  and  not  one 
dollar  was  appropriated  by  Congress.  Naturally 
the  tribesmen  felt  that  they  had  been  imposed 
upon.  Valuable  mining-land  had  been  secured 
from  them  at  a  nominal  price,  and  it  looked  like 
broken  faith  for  Uncle  Sam  to  run  behind  in  his 
payments. 

Meanwhile  the  Indians  suffered  for  lack  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  By  the  chase  the  warriors 
supported  their  families,  and  the  order  requiring 
them  to  remain  on  the  reservation  cut  them  off 
from  the  best  hunting-grounds.  Though  they 
continued  peaceable,  their  patience  was  sorely  tried. 
They  were  sensitive  about  the  agreement,  and 
resented  the  intrusion  of  squatters.  There  were 
disputes,  too,  over  the  boundaries  of  the  reser- 
vations. 

In  the  winter  of  1875-6  affairs  assumed  a  dan- 
gerous aspect,  and  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
Colorado  Territory  presented  a  memorial  to  Con- 
gress, calling  the  attention  of  that  body  to  the 
grievances  of  the  Utes,  and  asking  that  the  pay- 
ment be  made,  "in  justice  to  the  Utes,  who  have 
faithfully  kept  their  portion  of  the  contract,  and 
have  ever  endeavored  to  live  on  friendly  terms  with 
the  whites;  in  justice  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  residing  in  that  section  of  Colorado,  whose 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  231 

lives  and  property  are  imperiled;  and,  finally,  in 
justice  to  our  common  country,  whose  honor  should 
be  maintained  inviolate,  even  in  so  small  a  matter 
as  a  treaty  with  a  tribe  of  savages." 

The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Indian  Affairs,  and  there  it  rested.  Payment  was 
delayed  for  years.  In  the  meantime  placer  gold 
was  found  in  the  TJte  Reservation,  and  citizens 
staked  out  claims  in  defiance  of  Ouray's  protest. 
Near  by  the  mining-camp  was  a  choice  piece  of 
agricultural  land,  on  which  ranchers  settled  without 
so  much  as  asking  leave  of  the  Indians  who  owned  it. 
Already  there  were  mutterings  of  an  impending 
storm,  and  soon  afterward  the  cry  resounded  through 
Colorado,  "The  Utes  must  go !"  White  men  were 
pushing  westward,  and  they  wished  that  the 
Indians  might  be  ousted  so  they  could  develop  the 
country.  It  was  by  an  unexpected  train  of  events 
that  they  obtained  their  wish. 

In  the  spring  of  1878  Nathan  C.  Meeker,  famil- 
iarly known  as  "Father  Meeker,"  was  appointed 
agent  for  the  White  River  Utes.  He  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  founding  of  Union  Colony  at 
Greeley,  and  was  a  highly  respected  man.  Un- 
fortunately, he  had  never  had  any  experience  in 
dealing  with  Indians,  and  the  White  River  Utes 
were  hard  to  manage. 

Meeker  was   a   benevolent  old   gentleman   who 


232  THE  MAKTXG  OF  COLORADO 

wished  well  to  everybody.  It  was  his  aim  to  make 
the  Indians  self-supporting.  He  tried  to  teach 
them  how  to  garden  and  farm.  He  wanted  to 
educate  and  Christianize  them.  The  Indian  na- 
ture changes  slowly,  and  he  was  in  a  hurry  to 
civilize  them. 

It  is  a  pity  that  Father  Meeker  made  his  experi- 
ment on  the  wrong  class  of  Indians.  He  certainly 
meant  well,  and  entered  upon  his  self-imposed 
labors  with  enthusiasm.  He  made  the  blunder  of 
supposing  that  he  could  improve  them  against  their 
will.  The  Utes  had  not  emerged  from  the  hunter 
state,  and  were  unwilling  to  learn  to  work.  They 
were  not  disposed  to  travel  the  white  man's  road. 
They  did  not  appreciate  the  agent's  labors  in  their 
behalf.  Like  Marcus  Whitman  of  Oregon,  Meeker 
was  a  victim  of  misplaced  confidence.  It  was  a 
mistake  to  send  him  to  that  agency. 

The  bucks  strongly  objected  to  Meeker's  pro- 
gram of  field  work;  they  preferred  loafing,  hunting, 
and  horse-racing.  There  were  some  eight  or  ten 
men  and  youths  from  Greeley  whom  the  agent  had 
engaged  to  do  blacksmithing,  ditching,  plowing, 
and  other  outdoor  labors  that  he  could  not  induce 
the  warriors  to  do.  The  latter  were  fond  of  horse- 
racing,  and  were  wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  ex- 
citement when  Meeker  set  men  to  plowing  a  part 
of  the  land  used  for  a  race-track.  They  grumbled, 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  233 

but  the  work  went  on  until  a  bullet  whizzed  near 
the  driver's  ears.  Then  the  agent  in  alarm  com- 
plained to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 

There  were  two  factions  among  the  White  River 
Utes,  and  Meeker  sided  with  first  one  and  then  the 
other.  So  the  friction  increased. 

Before  a  year  had  passed  Chief  Jack  demanded 
Meeker's  removal.  Other  Utes  had  disagree- 
ments with  the  agent.  One  day  Medicine  Man 
Johnson  in  a  fit  of  anger  assaulted  Meeker  in  the 
latter's  house.  The  old  man  probably  would  have 
been  killed  but  for  the  timely  arrival  of  the  white 
employees  of  the  agency. 

This  was  early  in  September,  1879.  The  agent 
telegraphed  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
that  his  life  was  in  danger,  and  asked  for  soldiers 
to  protect  him  from  the  rebellious  savages.  Gov- 
ernor Pitkin  also  was  called  upon  for  aid. 

On  September  24  Major  T.  T.  Thornburgh, 
commandant  at  Fort  Steele  in  southern  Wyoming, 
started  for  the  Ute  agency.  He  had  with  him  one 
hundred  sixty  men,  mostly  cavalry.  On  the  way  they 
were  met  by  Jack  and  Colorow  writh  ten  braves. 
The  chiefs  denied  the  charge  that  the  Indians  had 
been  acting  badly;  they  proposed  that  Thorn- 
burgh  writh  an  escort  of  five  men  accompany  them 
to  the  agency  and  investigate  before  the  command 
was  permitted  to  enter  the  reservation.  Remem- 


234  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Bering  the  fate  of  Canby,  he  was  afraid  to  trust 
himself  with  them,  and  halted  two  days  near  the 
northern  edo;e  of  the  reservation. 

o 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  the  three  companies 
continued  their  march  to  Red  Canon,  a  narrow 
ravine  in  the  northern  part  of  Rio  Blanco  County, 
about  twenty-five  miles  northeast  of  the  agency. 
Where  the  winding  trail  crosses  Milk  Creek  they 
fell  into  an  ambush.  The  road  here  is  hemmed 
in  on  either  side  by  two  ranges  of  bluffs,  and  on 
these  the  warriors,  numbering  more  than  two  hun- 
dred fifty,  had  intrenched  themselves.  They  had 
dug  out  loopholes,  and  were  not  only  concealed  but 
shielded  from  the  fire  of  the  cavalrymen.  It  was 
a  complete  trap. 

The  troops  had  just  forded  the  stream,  and  the 
thirty-three  wagons  of  the  supply  train  were  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  the  rear.  Lieutenant  Cherry 
discovered  the  presence  of  Indians  on  a  ridge,  and 
with  fifteen  men  he  approached  within  two  hundred 
yards,  intending  to  ask  for  a  parley.  He  waved 
his  hat,  and  was  answered  with  a  murderous  volley. 

The  fight  had  now  begun  in  real  earnest,  and  the 
supply  train  was  stampeded.  No  redskins  were  in 
sight,  but  the  reports  of  Winchesters  and  Sharp's  ri- 
fles rang  out  in  all  directions.  The  hostiles  were 
posted  in  several  advantageous  positions  on  both 
sides  of  the  canon,  and  they  poured  a  cross  fire  into 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  235 

the  advancing  column.  They  were  desperate,  and 
the  skirmish  was  a  sharp  one. 

A  horde  of  savages  rushed  down  from  the  heights 
and  cut  off  the  wagon  train.  Seeing  this  move, 
Major  Thornburgh  at  the  head  of  twenty  mounted 
men  wheeled  and  attacked  them;  exposed  to  a 
galling  fire  from  the  bluffs,  he  gallantly  dashed  for- 
ward to  his  death.  The  surviving  soldiers  valiantly 
fought  their  way  back  to  the  wragons  and  began 
fortifying,  using  wragons  and  boxes  as  a  breastwork. 
Thornburgh  was  struck  by  five  or  six  balls,  and 
died  immediately.  Eleven  of  his  followers  were 
killed,  and  forty  wounded.  The  fallen  command- 
er's scalp  was  the  only  one  taken.  During  the  fight 
twenty-three  Utes  were  killed  and  several  wounded. 
Some  sixteen  more  were  killed  in  the  course  of  the 
next  few  days. 

Under  cover  of  darkness,  the  scout,  Joe  Rankin, 
set  out  on  horseback  for  relief.  He  made  a  wonder- 
ful ride,  covering  the  one  hundred  sixty  miles  to 
Rawlins  in  twenty-eight  hours.  On  the  second 
night  of  the  ??ege  another  courier  was  sent  out  with 
despatches.  For  six  days  the  beleagured  troops 
stubbornly  held  their  ground,  until  Colonel  Wesley 
Merritt's  force  of  six  hundred  men  arrived  and 
raised  the  dreadful  siege.  On  the  day  after  the 
ambuscade  the  hostiles  had  vainly  tried  to  dislodge 
the  brave  soldiers  from  their  breastwork  by  set- 


230  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

ting  fire  to  the  dry  grass  and  sagebrush  to  the 
windward  of  their  position.  No  water  could  be 
obtained,  but  the  men  fought  the  flames  hero- 
ically and  smothered  them  with  sacks  and  blan- 
kets. Their  plight  was  pitiable  in  the  extreme 
when  succor  came.  The  veteran  Indian  fighter, 
Colonel  Merritt,  was  so  affected  by  the  sight  of 
the  dead  and  wounded  that  he  wept  like  a  child. 
Others  gave  way  to  tears.  The  redskins  suddenly 
vanished. 

On  the  day  of  the  attack  on  the  agency  Meeker 
telegraphed  Washington:  "Indians  propose  to 
fight  if  troops  advance."  He  had  communicated 
with  Captain  Dodge,  who  was  at  Steamboat  Springs 
with  a  company  of  colored  cavalry,  and  he  expected 
Thornburgh  to  bring  the  command  within  striking 
distance  before  any  consultation  with  the  red  men 
should  be  held.  His  idea  seems  to  have  been  to 
overawe  them  with  a  show  of  force. 

This  wTas  the  last  straw.  The  Utes  believed 
Meeker  was  their  enemy.  He  wrould  not  comply 
when  they  asked  him  to  keep  the  troops  outside 
the  reservation  until  a  conference  could  be  held. 
Possibly  it  would  have  been  better  if  Thornburgh 
and  Meeker  had  yielded  to  this  demand  of  the 
chiefs.  They  mistrusted  the  agent  and  decided  to 
checkmate  his  moves. 

Douglass   and   a  score   or  so   of  warriors  were 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  237 

camped  near  the  agency.  An  Indian  mounted 
upon  a  fleet  pony  brought  them  word  of  the  ambus- 
cade. They  kept  the  news  a  secret  and  prepared 
for  action.  A  buck  sneaked  in  and  stole  the  agency 
rifles.  Whiskey  had  been  procured  somewhere,  and 
the  drunken  savages  suddenly  fell  upon  the  whites 
without  warning.  It  was  about  half-past  one  in 
the  afternoon,  and  the  employees  of  the  agency  were 
busy  as  usual,  suspecting  nothing  till  the  firing 
began.  Meeker  and  his  assistants  were  slain  in 
cold  blood  before  they  could  lay  hands  on  any 
weapons  to  defend  themselves.  Only  one  escaped, 
the  bearer  of  messages  for  Thornburgh;  this  man 
had  left  a  short  time  before  the  massacre.  There 
were,  besides,  three  freighters  and  two  traders  in 
the  vicinity  who  met  death.  In  all,  the  victims  of 
the  red  men's  vengeance  numbered  at  least  fifteen 
or  sixteen. 

The  agency  buildings  were  pillaged  and  burned. 
Mrs.  Meeker,  her  daughter  Josephine,  and  Mrs. 
Price  hid  in  an  adobe  building  used  for  a  milk- 
house.  While  the  Indians  were  busy  taking  out 
goods,  the  ladies  tried  to  escape  to  the  sagebrush. 
They  were  seen;  a  wild  yell  arose  as  the  bucks 
rushed  after  them.  A  volley  was  fired  to  frighten 
the  fleeing  women.  A  stray  ball  hit  Mrs.  Meeker, 
inflicting  a  slight  flesh  wound,  and  she  fell  to  the 
ground. 


238  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

"Come  to  me,"  called  out  a  brave  to  Miss  Meeker. 
44 No  shoot  you." 

"No  kill  white  squaw,"  another  assured  Mrs. 
Trice,  who  was  afraid  of  being  burned.  Her  two 
young  children  and  the  women  were  taken  pris- 
oners and  kept  in  captivity  until  October  21. 
While  unharmed,  they  underwent  many  hardships 
and  privations. 

At  the  time  Ouray  with  his  band  was  on  a  hunt- 
ing expedition.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  up- 
rising he  sent  a  letter  to  the  White  River  chiefs, 
telling  them  to  stop  fighting.  The  vindictive  Utes, 
having  got  rid  of  their  obnoxious  agent,  were  ready 
for  peace.  The  captives  were  given  up,  but  the 
tribesmen  would  not  surrender  the  men  guilty  of 
the  attack  on  Thornburgh  and  the  massacre  of  the 
agency  people.  They  were  never  punished. 

Now  the  cry  went  up  with  redoubled  energy, 
"The  Utes  must  go !"  The  final  outcome  of  the 
trouble  w^as  the  removal  of  the  White  River  bands 
to  the  Uinta  Reservation,  in  1881.  Ouray  had 
repeatedly  declared  that  he  would  never  leave  the 
mountains,  but  the  death  of  the  old  chief  in  1880 
made  the  way  clear  for  the  removal  of  the  Tabe- 
quaches  and  Uncompahgres  to  a  newr  reservation 
on  Green  River  in  Utah. 

History  repeats  itself.  As  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion rolled  westward  a  century  ago,  the  tribes  of 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES  230 

Ohio  and  Indiana  had  to  move  on.  Then  the  red 
men  of  the  Mississippi  valley  were  ousted,  to  make 
way  for  the  palefaces  who  coveted  their  lands. 
The  day  of  doom  at  last  came  for  the  plains  savages. 
Within  the  memory  of  living  men  the  Indians  of 
Colorado  were  forced  to  leave  their  hunting- 
grounds. 

There  is  a  pathetic  side  to  it,  and  yet  this  migra- 
tion of  a  lower  race  had  to  be.  The  red  men  were 
not  a  class  fitted  to  survive.  Human  nature  being 
what  it  is,  the  Indian  had  to  go  under.  The  abo- 
rigines have  gone,  but  their  names  cling  to  streams 
and  mountains,  to  towns  and  counties  of  our 
commonwealth.  Yam'pa,  Saguache,  Manitou, 
Arapahoe  and  other  expressive  names  remind  us 
of  a  people  who  once  lived  here,  but  are  gone 
forever. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO 

FOR  many  years  Colorado  has  led  all  the  states  in 
the  production  of  the  precious  metals.  Since  1900 
its  output  of  gold  and  silver  has  been  upward  of 
one  third  or  one  fourth  of  the  total  annual  product 
of  the  mines  of  the  United  States.  The  industry  is 
widespread ;  in  twenty-four  out  of  Colorado's  fifty- 
nine  counties  the  mining  of  precious  metals  is 
carried  on  extensively.  Hollister  writes: 

"It  was  the  commercial  collapse  of  1857,  that 
set  many  adventurous  spirits  in  the  then  West 
peering  into  the  obscurity  beyond  them  for  a  new 
field  of  enterprise.  A  party  of  Cherokee  Indians, 
traveling  overland  to  California  in  1852,  via  the 
Arkansas  River  and  along  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Sierra  Madre  to  the  North  Platte  at  Fort  Laramie, 
by  some  means  found  gold  in  the  banks  of  Ralston 
Creek,  a  small  affluent  of  the  Vasquez  Fork  of  the 
South  Platte,  emptying  into  it  near  its  mouth;  and 
each  year  thereafter  parties  of  Cherokees  had  gone 
out  and  prospected  the  streams  in  the  vicinity  of 
what  is  now  Denver  City.  At  last  they  were  suc- 
cessful; they  obtained  a  few  dollars'  worth  of  the 

240 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO  241 

glittering  dust,  which  they  carried  home  late  in 
1857,  exhibiting  it  freely  as  they  passed  through 
Nebraska  and  Kansas. 

"The  report  of  a  new  land  of  gold  in  the  West 
spread  like  an  epidemic  through  the  country 
drained  by  the  Missouri  River,  and  soon  traveled 
far  beyond.  These  Indians  appear  to  have  gone 
home  and  told  their  story  on  the  confines  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  for  Georgians  were  among  the 
first  to  seek  the  new  gold  country. 

"On  the  9th  of  February,  1858,  W.  G.  Russell, 
with  a  party  of  nine  men,  left  the  State  of  Georgia 
with  a  view  of  prospecting  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Sierra  Madre  along  the  heads  of  the  South  Platte, 
from  Pike's  Peak  to  the  Black  Hills.  They  ar- 
rived on  the  head  of  Cherry  Creek  about  the  1st  of 
June.  They  prospected  Cherry  Creek,  the  Platte, 
and  its  affluents  as  far  north  as  Cache  a  la  Poudre, 
without  finding  anything  satisfactory.  They  re- 
turned to  the  Platte,  and  about  five  miles  up  a 
small  creek  which  puts  into  the  Platte  seven  miles 
south  of  the  mouth  of  Cherry  Creek,  a  fine  pros- 
pect one  evening  rewarded  their  labors  and  en- 
livened their  hopes.  They  dug  large  holes  in  the 
wet  sand,  put  their  'rockers'  down  in  them,  and 
dipping  in  water  with  cups  washed  out  in  a  few 
days  several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  gold.  As 
soon  as  they  got  to  work,  some  of  the  party  re- 


242  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

turned  to  Kansas  with  the  news.     Pike's  Peak  was 
the  nearest  notable  natural  object,  and  so  the  new 
gold  field — the  Dorado  of  many  feverish  dreams- 
took  its  name  from  that." 

The  coming  of  Green  Russell  in   1858  gave  a 
marked  impetus  to  the  quest  of  treasure-trove  in 


CACLE 

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MOMTEZUMA 


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f^law 


asa 


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'.  «.  {'LAS  AN/ MAS 


THE  GREAT  MINING-DISTRICTS   OF  CENTRAL  AND 
SOUTHERN  COLORADO 

Colorado,  although  no  gold  to  amount  to  anything 
was  found  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  before  the 
spring  of  the  following  year. 

To  George  A.  Jackson,  a  Missourian  who  had 
been  to  California,  belongs  the  distinction  of  mak- 
ing the  first  important  discovery  of  placer  gold, 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO  243 

near  the  present  site  of  Idaho  Springs,  in  Clear 
Creek  County.  While  prospecting  at  the  mouth 
of  Chicago  Creek  in  January,  1859,  he  made  what 
he  considered  a  valuable  find. 

When  winter  was  over  Jackson  returned  at  the 
head  of  a  party  of  twenty-two  men,  who  washed 
out  nineteen  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  gold  dust 
during  the  first  wreek  of  May. 

About  the  same  time  numerous  other  parties 
set  out  and  prospected  the  streams  and  gulches  in 
the  mountainous  country  some  thirty  or  thirty- 
five  miles  west  of  Denver.  Among  them  was  John 
H.  Gregory  of  Georgia,  who  was  "grubstaked"  by 
David  K.  Wall,  then  a  recent  arrival  in  Golden. 
With  two  men  Gregory  journeyed  to  the  gulch 
that  bears  his  name,  where  he  had  seen  indica- 
tions of  gold  in  the  winter.  On  May  6  they  shov- 
eled away  the  ice  and  snow,  and  Gregory  dug  up 
a  panful  of  dirt.  It  panned  out  four  dollars' 
worth  of  colors.  That  night  he  could  not  sleep— 
he  was  so  dazed  and  excited  by  his  good  luck. 
He  and  his  companions  staked  out  claims,  and  in 
three  days  they  had  gold  amounting  to  nearly  one 
thousand  dollars. 

Gregory  was  now  a  rich  man.  He  sold  his 
claims  for  twenty-one  thousand  dollars  and  forth- 
with engaged  at  prospecting  for  others  at  two 
hundred  dollars  a  day.  The  gold-bearing  lode 


244  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

that  he  discovered  afterward  yielded  millions  of 
dollars.  Gilpin  County,  where  Gregory  Gulch  is 
located,  has  been  from  that  time  a  great  producer  of 
the  precious  metals;  its  mines  have  been  credited 
with  nearly  ninety  millions'  worth.  Clear  Creek 
County,  the  scene  of  Jackson's  operations,  has 
passed  the  ninety-million  mark.  These  pioneer 
miners  builded  better  than  they  knew. 

The  reports  of  the  discoveries  traveled  fast  and 
far,  causing  a  rush  to  Jackson's  Diggings  arid 
Gregory  Gulch.  An  immense  army  of  men  in- 
vaded the  Rockies,  searching  for  the  golden  fleece. 

Mining-camps  sprang  up  in  the  valleys  and  on 
the  mountainsides.  A  party  exploring  in  the  foot- 
hills and  outlying  spurs  of  the  Front  Range  founded 
a  colony  that  grew  into  the  town  of  Boulder.  An- 
other croAvd  of  gold-seekers  established  Fairplay. 
Black  Hawk,  Central  City,  and  other  towns  had 
their  rise  at  that  time;  they  were  at  first  only  collec- 
tions of  canvas  tents  and  covered  wagons.  Some 
of  them  Avere  deserted  as  soon  as  the  gullies  and 
arroyos  in  the  vicinity  were  denuded  of  auriferous 
soil. 

Fate  now  smiled  on  Green  Russell,  who  "struck 
it  rich"  in  the  gulch  named  after  him.  Others 
made  their  fortunes  out  of  the  gold-bearing  gravel 
of  Gilpin  County. 

The  free  gold  cleaned  up  from  Colorado's  placers 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO  245 

in  1858  was  only  a  trifle;  in  1859  it  amounted  to 
more  than  six  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth. 
During  the  next  four  years  over  nine  millions' 
worth  wras  obtained.  Placer  mining  wras  becoming 
less  lucrative,  and  the  mining  industry  was  on  the 
wane  until  the  era  of  lode-shaft  mining  began  in 
1868.  Up  to  that  year  the  total  yield  of  Colorado 
gold  did  not  amount  to  thirty  million  dollars,  while 
that  of  Nevada  was  estimated  at  one  hundred 
millions,  and  the  product  of  California's  mines 
aggregated  nine  hundred  millions.  As  gold  was  at 
a  high  premium  in  1864,  these  estimates  probably 
are  over  the  mark. 

It  was  a  simple  process,  that  of  obtaining  the  gold 
dust  mixed  with  sand  and  gravel,  in  the  days  of 
primitive  mining.  Where  there  was  a  running 
stream,  a  sluice  box  was  used,  or  the  pan.  The 
heavy  particles  of  gold  remained  at  the  bottom 
when  the  dirt  had  been  washed  away.  These 
shining  grains  had  been  disintegrated  and  worn 
away  from  veins  in  the  mountainsides.  While  the 
principal  uplift  of  the  Rockies  took  place  later  than 
that  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  it  occurred  long 
ago,  very  long  ago.  The  mineral  zones  of  the  hills 
and  mountains  are  bisected  by  gold-bearing  lodes 
and  veins  that  are  gradually  worn  away  by  the  action 
of  floods  and  freshets  in  arroyos.  For  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  years  erosion  has  gone  on,  and  the 


'246 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


DOWN  IN  A  GOLD  MINE 


minute  particles  of  gold  have  been  liberated  and 
deposited  in  the  crevices  of  rocks  or  along  the  beds 
of  streams.  It  was  this  gold,  which  had  been  ac- 
cumulating during  the  ages,  that  the  early  miners 
gathered  in 

In  course  of  time,  as  the  gulches  became  "slicked 
out,"  prospectors  wrere  led  to  seek  the  veins  higher 
up  whence  the  free  gold  had  come.  Quartz- 
mining  developed  naturally  from  placer  mining. 
The  quantity  of  the  yellow  metal  found  on  the  sur- 
face of  auriferous  ground  was  but  a  drop  in  the 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO  247 

bucket  compared  with  the  gold  ore  in  the  rock- 
ribbed  hills  and  mountains. 

Gold  nuggets  or  lumps  of  gold  are  now  seldom 
found;  the  metal  as  it  occurs  in  lodes  is  usually 
mixed  with  baser  minerals,  or  it  is  imbedded  in 
solid  rock  and  has  to  be  extracted  by  smelting 
or  milling  processes.  The  building  of  smelters  in 
1868  gave  a  wonderful  impetus  to  "lead"  or  lode 
mining  in  Colorado.  The  outcropping  veins  were 
followed  underground,  tunnels  were  dug,  shafts 
sunk,  the  rock  was  drilled  and  blasted,  and  the 
broken  pieces  of  ore  hauled  to  the  surface,  thence 
to  be  transported  by  pack-mules  or  in  wagons  to 
the  smelter.  So,  when  the  gold  in  gulches  had  be- 
come exhausted,  the  bowels  of  the  mountains  were 
made  to  yield  up  their  precious  treasure  hidden 
from  sight. 

At  first  stamp  mills  or  arrastras  were  used  to 
grind  up  masses  of  rock  containing  free  gold.  Later 
various  methods  were  employed  in  extracting  the 
yellow  metal  in  refractory  ores.  Then  smelting 
establishments  were  erected.  The  opening  of  the 
first  smelter,  at  Black  Hawk  in  1868,  wras  an  epoch- 
making  event  in  Colorado's  history. 

Already  silver  had  been  mined  to  some  extent  in 
the  country  around  Georgetown  and  Silver  Plume. 
Improved  machinery  was  used  in  developing  deep 
mines.  So  the  mining  industry  grew.  As  yet  there 


248  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

were  no  railways  in  the  territory,  and  so  great  was 
the  cost  of  transportation  that  only  the  richest  ores 
could  be  handled  to  advantage. 

Smiley  says:  'The  gold-district  of  Colorado, 
that  is,  the  region  in  which  gold  is  found  in  its 
original  place  in  the  rocks,  is  about  three  hundred 
miles  long  by  one  hundred  wide,  all  in  the  center 
and  western  mountainous  part  of  the  state. 
Twenty  counties  rank  as  regular  gold -producers. 
The  silver  distribution  is  all  within  the  same  area, 
but  is  not  so  general  over  it  as  the  gold,  the  white 
metal  seeming  to  have  had  a  disposition  to  concen- 
trate in  extraordinary  richness  in  certain  localities. 
Much  of  the  gold  and  silver  ore  carries  lead  and 
copper  in  varying  quantities." 

The  advent  of  the  Union  Pacific  to  Denver  in 
1870  and  the  building  of  various  other  railroads 
thereafter  in  the  heart  of  the  territory  gave  a 
mighty  uplift  to  the  mining  industry. 

The  reputed  rich  finds  of  gold  and  silver  in  the 
"San  Juan  Country"  caused  a  rush  to  this  produc- 
tive region  in  the  early  seventies.  Camps  were 
established  at  Ouray  and  Silverton.  Placer  claims 
were  staked  out  by  hundreds  and  lode  claims  by 
thousands.  The  development  of  these  properties, 
though  some  of  them  were  exceedingly  valuable, 
was  slow  before  the  completion  of  railways  to  the 
southwestern  part  of  Colorado.  For  a  score  of 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO  249 

years  San  Juan  and  the  adjoining  counties  have 
yielded  up  an  enormous  production  of  silver,  gold, 
lead,  and  copper. 

As  long  ago  as  1859  the  pioneer  gold-seekers 
found  their  way  to  Lake  County.  From  California 
Gulch  and  other  fields  in  this  section  more  than 
ten  million  dollars'  worth  of  gold  was  taken  be- 
fore 1865.  Then  there  was  a  decline. 

Many  of  the  men  who  came  to  the  Pike's  Peak 
country  had  had  no  experience  at  mining,  and  they 
went  at  it  in  a  haphazard,  wasteful  way.  From 
working  placer  beds  they  turned  their  attention  to 
lodes  and  veins.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  rich  ore 
pockets  were  found  only  to  be  abandoned  before 
the  miner  had  gone  deep  enough  to  determine 
whether  there  were  any  pay  streaks  or  not.  Some 
miners  had  to  give  up  for  lack  of  capital  or  on 
account  of  the  scarcity  of  water.  Others  lost  their 
all  through  blunders. 

As  the  years  passed,  the  need  was  felt  for  scien- 
tific training,  and  the  School  of  Mines  was  founded 
at  Golden.  Here  students  are  thoroughly  ground- 
ed in  geology,  metallurgy,  and  allied  subjects  per- 
taining to  mining.  This  technical  institution, 
established  in  1874  by  legislative  enactment,  is  the 
pride  of  the  state;  it  has  played  an  important  part 
in  promoting  the  mineral  industry. 

In  the   seventies  the  United   States   Geological 


250  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Surveying  parties,  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor F.  V.  Hayden,  did  a  good  work  in  making 
known  the  topographical  and  geological  features 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  published  reports 
contain  a  wealth  of  information.  Afterward 
Emmons,  Lakes,  and  other  geologists  made  more 
careful  researches,  which  have  been  of  inestimable 
service  to  prospectors.  The  mining  engineer,  the 
chemist,  and  the  electrician  all  have  had  a  share 
in  making  a  success  of  present-day  mining. 

It  was  not  till  1874  that  the  value  of  lead-silver 
ores  was  discovered.  That  year  marks  the  open- 
ing of  a  new  era  in  the  mining  industry  of  Colo- 
rado. The  abundance  of  lead  carbonates  carrying 
silver  caused  a  boom  in  the  almost  deserted  Cali- 
fornia Gulch.  A  populous  city  sprang  up  that 
was  named  Leadville  from  the  argentiferous  lead 
ores  found  here.  In  a  short  time  it  became  known 
as  one  of  the  greatest  mining  camps  in  the  world. 
After  the  falling-ofT  in  the  production  of  the  Corn- 
stock  in  Nevada,  it  became  the  most  important 
silver-producer  in  the  whole  West.  In  1890  it 
had  given  the  nation  nearly  one  hundred  fifty 
million  dollars'  worth  of  gold  and  silver. 

Leadville  nestles  at  the  western  base  of  the 
Mosquito  Range,  on  the  upper  edge  of  a  gently- 
sloping  mesa.  Nearly  two  miles  above  sea  level, 
it  commands  a  fine  view  of  the  Arkansas  valley  and 


THE  MIXES  OF  COLORADO  251 

of  the  Sawatch  Mountains.  The  Mount  of  the 
Holy  Cross  overshadows  it,  and  thirty  miles  to  the 
north  is  Gore's  Range  (named  in  honor  of  a 
British  nobleman  who  came  to  the  Rockies  on  a 
hunting  expedition  in  1856). 

For  many  years  the  "Carbonate  City"  has  been 
an  important  smelting  center.  Here  is  located  one 
of  the  largest  smelters  in  the  world.  The  slump 
in  silver  in  1893  was  followed  by  a  period  of  de- 
pression, but  the  enterprising  citizens  turned  their 
attention  to  gold,  lead,  and  zinc.  The  silver-lead 
deposits  are  found  at  no  great  depth  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Mosquito  Range;  they  were  formed 
in  the  geological  age  before  the  mountain  upheaval 
at  the  close  of  the  Cretaceous  period.  In  1900  the 
city  had  a  population  of  over  twelve  thousand. 

With  the  rise  of  Leadville  the  day  of  small  things 
in  mining  was  past.  Areas  bearing  free  gold  had 
been  gleaned  almost  to  the  last  ounce ;  the  gold  pan 
and  the  crude  appliances  of  the  pioneer  were  cast 
aside.  Placer  mining  gave  way  to  the  search  for 
lead-silver  ores.  Lake  County  stands  next  to 
Teller  as  an  ore-producing  county.  The  annual 
product  has  varied  from  ten  to  fifteen  million 
dollars.  The  principal  value  of  the  ores  is  in 
silver,  lead,  and  zinc  rather  than  in  gold.  The 
bulk  of  Colorado's  supply  of  zinc  comes  from  this 
county. 


THE  MIXES  OF  COLORADO  253 

The  neighboring  mining  region  of  Aspen,  in 
Pitkin  County,  is  related  to  that  of  Leadville. 
Silver  mining  has  been  the  great  industry  of  this 
camp.  Ouray,  San  Juan,  and  Mineral  counties 
have  also  been  large  producers  of  the  white  metal. 
During  a  period  of  eighteen  years  (1877-94)  Colo- 
rado's output  of  silver  exceeded  that  of  its  gold. 
It  fairly  earned  the  name,  sometimes  applied  to 
Nevada,  of  the  " Silver  State." 

Mineral  County  has  a  unique  history.  Prior  to 
1890  it  was  an  unknown  section;  the  railroad  came 
in  1891;  in  the  winter  of  1891-2  it  was  the  scene 
of  the  wildest  excitement,  caused  by  the  big  ship- 
ment of  high-grade  ores  from  Creede;  early  in 
1893  it  was  created  a  county.  The  ore  of  this 
region  is  a  fine-grained  amethystine  quartz,  carry- 
ing gold,  silver,  lead,  and  zinc.  The  main  deposits 
occur  in  strong  fissure  veins. 

Ouray  is  the  banner  mining  county  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  state.  It  was  originally  a  part 
of  the  Ute  Reservation,  and  the  mining  camp  that 
grew  up  in  1876  was  named  in  honor  of  the  noble 
Indian  chief.  In  1877  the  county  was  created. 
The  completion  of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande 
Railway  from  Montrose  to  Ouray  in  1887  was 
followed  by  a  period  of  activity  in  mining,  chiefly 
in  gold. 

For  a  number  of  years  in  the  past  decade  San 


251  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Miguel  County  has  almost  equaled  Ouray  in  the 
production  of  gold  and  silver.  Its  output  of  the 
white  metal  in  1905-7  exceeded  that  of  Ouray 
County.  Telluride  is  the  supplying  and  distribu- 
ting point  for  the  gold  and  silver  area  of  the  San 
Miguel  Mountains.  This  district  now  ranks  third 
as  a  producer  of  gold,  yielding  over  three  million 
dollars'  worth  in  1907. 

The  Cripple  Creek  mining  district  lies  to  the 
southwest  of  Pike's  Peak,  in  Teller  County.  While 
it  includes  about  one  hundred  thirty  square  miles, 
the  noted  mines  are  congregated  in  the  hills  and 
valleys  within  an  area  six  miles  square.  In  1890 
it  was  a  cow  pasture;  now  it  is  the  most  important 
gold  camp  in  the  United  States.  The  story  of  its 
rise  reads  more  like  a  romance  than  history. 
During  the  past  ten  years  its  output  has  varied 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  millions  a  year,  or  nearly 
two  thirds  of  the  aggregate  of  Colorado's  gold.  It 
is  a  veritable  Golconda.  There  are  a  hundred 
different  mines  here,  some  of  them  having  shafts 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  feet  deep.  The  fame 
of  Cripple  Creek  has  been  made  by  such  mines  as 
the  Portland,  El  Paso,  Stratton's  Independence, 
Findlay,  Elkton,  Vindicator,  Strong,  Gold  Coin, 
Mary  McKinney,  and  Isabella. 

The  district  is  divided  into  a  dozen  settlements ; 
of  these,  Cripple  Creek  and  Victor  arc  leading 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO 


255 


centers,  and  they  are  in  almost  every  sense  metro- 
politan. The  altitude  of  Cripple  Creek  is  over 
nine  thousand  feet;  the  temperature  falls  to  the 
freezing-point  almost  every  night  in  July.  In  1900 
the  town  had  a  population  of  ten  thousand. 


UNITED  STATES  MINT  AT  DENVER 

For  half  a  century  Colorado  has  been  a  contrib- 
utor to  the  world's  store  of  the  precious  metals. 
During  the  fifty  years  from  1858  to  1907,  the  out- 
put of  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  and  zinc  aggre- 
gated more  than  a  billion  dollars'  worth.  This 
estimate  is  not  based  upon  inflated  reports,  but 
upon  the  carefully  compiled  figures  of  the  State 


256  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Bureau  of  Mines.  The  production  of  gold  in  this 
period  is  in  round  numbers  four  hundred  twenty- 
five  million  dollars'  worth,  and  that  of  silver  is 
slightly  less.  Two  thirds  of  the  eight  hundred 
odd  millions  has  come  from  the  bonanza  camps 
of  Leadville  and  Cripple  Creek. 

In  1900  there  were  40,000  men  engaged  in  the 
mining  industry  of  Colorado;  of  these  over  one 
third  were  working  in  the  Leadville  and  Cripple 
Creek  districts.  There  are  more  than  a  hundred 
mining  camps  in  the  state.  With  all  the  inventions 
and  mechanical  appliances  that  have  come  into 
vogue  of  late  years,  and  with  the  increased  knowl- 
edge of  experts  who  have  made  a  life  study  of 
mining,  there  is  still  a  large  element  of  uncertainty 
in  underground  enterprises;  nevertheless,  mining 
comes  much  nearer  being  a  science  to-day  than  it 
was  a  decade  ago. 

The  gold  production  of  the  world  in  1906  was 
four  hundred  million  dollars'  worth.  Of  this 
total  the  Transvaal  produced  nearly  one  hundred 
twenty  millions.  The  United  States  ranked  second 
among  the  gold  -  producing  countries,  yielding 
ninety-six  millions.  Of  this  grand  total  Colora- 
do's share  was  nearly  one  fourth. 

Denver  is  the  leading  mining  center  of  the  West. 
It  is  the  greatest  ore  market  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain States.  Here  are  the  large  smelters.  The 


THE  MINES  OF  COLORADO 


257 


PANNING  GOLD 

Queen  City  has  more  mining  offices  than  Salt 
Lake  or  San  Francisco.  Besides  the  laborers  in 
the  mills  and  the  employees  of  the  United  States 
Mint,  there  is  an  army  of  men  who  get  their  living 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  mines — capitalists, 
promoters,  assay ers,  engineers,  and  others. 

Colorado  has  other  mineral  resources  of  untold 
value — lead,  copper,  zinc,  iron,  coal,  marble,  and 
building  stone. 

One  fourth  of  the  total  output  of  lead  in  the 
United  States  is  produced  by  Colorado.  It  is 
obtained  by  the  smelting  of  ores  carrying  gold  and 
silver.  The  yield  of  the  past  thirty-five  years 
amounts  to  one  hundred  forty  million  dollars'  worth. 


258  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

Copper  has  been  obtained  to  the  value  of  twenty- 
two  millions,  and  the  output  of  zinc  has  brought 
the  mine-owners  nearly  as  much  during  the  past 
five  years.  In  Pitkin,  Saguache,  and  other  coun- 
ties are  large  deposits  of  iron  of  superior  quality. 
The  Leadville  manganiferous  ores  are  shipped  to 
the  mills  of  South  Chicago  and  to  the  steel  works 
of  Pueblo.  The  output  of  manganiferous  iron  in 
1 906  was  worth  half  a  million  dollars. 

Colorado  stands  fifth  in  rank  of  the  coal-pro- 
ducing states.  Her  coal  fields  embrace  territory 
to  the  extent  of  eighteen  thousand  square  miles. 
Every  variety  of  coal  is  found,  but  the  area  of  an- 
thracite is  small.  Only  a  beginning  has  been  made 
in  developing  the  quarries  of  the  Centennial  State, 
which  are  rich  in  lava  stones,  sandstones,  granite, 
and  marble.  The  search  for  the  golden  fleece  still 
goes  on.  The  ore  bodies  of  the  Rockies  are  far 
from  being  exhausted.  For  a  long  time  to  come 
the  ledges  and  quarries  will  yield  up  riches  beyond 
the  wildest  dreams  of  the  Fifty-niners. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO 

THE  building  of  the  first  transcontinental  railroad 
was  followed  by  the  construction  of  a  branch  line 
from  Cheyenne  to  Denver.  It  was  opened  June 
15,  1870,  and  in  August  the  Kansas  Pacific  w^as 
finished  to  the  Queen  City.  September  saw  the 
Colorado  Central  built  to  Golden.  These  were 
the  beginnings  of  railroad  building  in  Colorado 
Territory.  In  1871  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande 
Company  was  at  work  laying  tracks  to  connect 
Denver  with  the  towns  of  the  plains  and  mountains. 
The  task  of  conquering  the  Rockies  had  begun. 

In  1872  the  Colorado  Central  wras  extended  to 
Black  Hawk;  then  to  Central  City.  In  1877  a 
road  wras  constructed  to  Georgetown.  Afterward 
these  lines  and  others  were  merged  into  the  Colo- 
rado and  Southern  System. 

Meanwhile  the  surveyors  of  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka,  and  Santa  Fe,  following  in  the  footsteps  of 
Captain  John  W.  Gunnison,  marked  out  a  route 
along  the  historic  Sante  Fe  trail;  and  in  1876  the 
road  was  finished  to  Pueblo.  In  1882  the  Burling- 
ton Missouri  entered  Denver. 

259 


260  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

On  the  plains  grading  was  comparatively  easy. 
The  building  of  mountain  roads  was  a  different 
matter;  the  construction  engineers  of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  encountered  tremendous  ob- 
stacles, and  it  taxed  their  ingenuity  to  the  utmost 
to  overcome  them.  Beginning  with  the  line  from 
Denver  to  Colorado  Springs,  in  1871,  the  Rio 
Grande  has  grown  into  a  great  system  including 
branch  lines  in  Colorado  and  Utah,  a  great  deal 
of  it  being  in  mountainous  country.  The  "Scenic 
lane"  passes  over  ranges  two  miles  high,  and 
threads  its  way  through  canons  a  half  mile  deep. 
In  many  places  distances  have  been  lessened  by 
driving  tunnels  through  the  mountains;  the  one 
under  Tennessee  Pass,  twenty-five  hundred  feet 
long,  saves  a  climb  of  four  hundred  feet. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  the  surveyors  and 
the  advance  guard  of  workmen  were  not  harassed 
by  Indians,  as  were  the  laborers  on  the  Union 
Pacific  in  the  sixties.  There  was  no  interference 
to  speak  of  by  the  Utes.  However  much  the  red 
man  was  opposed  to  it,  he  seemed  to  realize  that 
his  feeble  resistance  wrould  not  avail  to  arrest  the 
onward  progress  of  the  iron  horse. 

Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day.  More  than  thirty 
years  were  consumed  in  constructing  the  main 
lines  and  branches  of  the  Rio  Grande  System. 
For  hundreds  of  miles  where  the  grades  were  steep 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  261 

the  tracks  were  narrow  gage.  The  undertaking 
was  a  tremendous  one.  In  marking  out  the  routes 
the  construction  engineers  turned  to  account  the 
explorations  of  Fremont  and  Gunnison. 

In  the  meantime  the  Colorado  and  Southern  and 
the  Midland  were  engaged  in  extending  their  roads 
through  the  picturesque  backbone  of  the  continent. 
In  some  cases  they  followed  the  Indian  trails 
through  the  defiles  of  the  mountains.  Lastly,  the 
Denver,  Northwestern,  and  Pacific,  commonly 
called  "The  Moffat  Road,"  was  started.  These 
railways  are  in  the  heart  of  the  Rockies,  and  climb 
stupendous  heights.  It  required  "a  power  of 
work"  to  span  chasms  with  bridges  and  blast 
roadbeds  out  of  the  sides  of  the  cliffs. 

The  Cordilleran  Range  in  Colorado  is  literally 
humped  like  a  camel.  The  states  to  the  north 
have  no  such  mountains.  Nowhere  else  on  this 
continent,  except  in  Alaska  and  Mexico,  are  there 
peaks  so  high  as  Massive  and  Elbert.  The  trans- 
continental lines  to  the  north  and  south  found 
passes  in  Wyoming,  Montana,  and  New  Mexico 
ranging  from  seven  thousand  to  nine  thousand  feet 
in  height,  and  the  stations  in  the  Sierras  are  no 
higher.  In  Colorado  the  railways  ascend  to  many 
points  above  the  clouds. 

It  is  no  easy  matter  to  build  mountain  railroads. 
The  expenditures  for  bridges,  trestles,  tunnels, 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  203 

loops,  etc.,  are  simply  enormous.  A  well-known 
case  in  point  is  the  far-famed  Georgetown  Loop, 
on  the  Colorado  and  Southern.  As  a  railway  of 
standard  gage  can  rise  only  a  certain  number  of 
feet  in  a  mile,  the  line  of  track  circles  about  in  a 
serpentine  trail,  gradually  rising  higher  and  higher 
between  Georgetown  and  Silver  Plume.  To  make 
the  ascent  of  seven  hundred  feet  and  a  distance  of 
only  one  mile  by  wagon  road,  the  train  climbs 
around  and  around  four  and  one  tenth  miles  of  rail, 
crossing  Clear  Creek  eighteen  times.  The  track  on 
the  high  bridge  is  seventy-five  feet  above  the  track 
under  the  bridge.  The  steepest  grade  is  one  hun- 
dred ninety-five  feet  to  the  mile.  The  Loop  cost 
from  $40,000  to  $50,000  a  mile.  At  Alpine  Pass, 
where  the  Southern  surmounts  the  dome  of  the 
Continent,  the  cost  of  the  track  was  about  $50,000 
a  mile.  The  average  expenditure  of  some  thirty 
miles  or  more  of  the  Moffat  Road  has  been  esti- 
mated at  $125,000  a  mile.  Owing  to  the  con- 
struction difficulties  met  in  the  Animas  Canon, 
the  outlay  for  a  mile  of  track  north  of  Rockwood 
aggregated  about  $140,000. 

The  Rio  Grande  crosses  and  recrosses  the  Con- 
tinental Divide,  making  grades  of  two  hundred 
eleven  feet  to  the  mile,  which  is  the  limit  for  a 
standard  gage  road.  From  Antonito  to  Chama 
the  track  winds  around  the  mountains,  doubling 


204  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

upon  itself,  until  it  makes  a  distance  of  sixty-four 
miles.  The  air  line  between  these  two  points  is 
about  thirty-five  miles.  Instead  of  curving  around 
a  mountain  summit,  it  is  sometimes  better  to 
tunnel  through  it  and  make  a  short  cut  to  the  other 
side.  Thus  Toltec  Tunnel  wras  driven  through 
the  granite  for  a  distance  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  So  solid  is  the  rock  that  no  props  are  needed 
to  uphold  the  mass  above.  As  the  train  rolls  out 
of  the  tunnel,  it  passes  directly  upon  a  bridge  set 
in  the  wall  of  stone,  and  this  firm  balcony  of 
masonry  is  all  that  keeps  the  passenger  coaches 
from  falling  fifteen  hundred  feet. 

Another  instance  of  marvelous  engineering  skill 
is  the  hanging  bridge  in  Royal  Gorge,  where  the 
canon  is  too  narrow  for  both  road  and  river.  By 
means  of  huge  iron  braces  fastened  to  the  w^alls  of 

o 

the  chasm  (fifty  feet  wide  at  this  point)  an  iron 
bridge  is  held  in  suspension,  and  strong  iron  bars 
depending  therefrom  hold  the  track  in  place  at  the 
base  of  a  cliff  two  thousand  six  hundred  feet  high. 
Through  the  Black  Canon  of  the  Gunnison  River 
the  road  is  built  for  miles  on  a  shelf  blasted  out  of 
the  rocky  wall. 

A  daring  piece  of  work  was  the  building  of  the 
first  mile  north  of  Rockwood  in  the  Animas  Canon. 
The  wrall  in  this  defile  of  natural  masonry  was 
smooth  and  vertical  for  almost  a  thousand  feet 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  265 

from  its  base.  "From  that  height  were  seen  hang- 
ing spider-web-like  ropes,  down  which  men,  seem- 
ing not  much  larger  than  ants,  were  slowly  de- 
scending, while  others,  perched  upon  narrow 
shelves  in  the  face  of  the  cliff,  or  in  trifling  niches 
from  which  their  only  egress  was  by  dangling  ropes, 
sighted  through  their  theodolites  from  one  ledge 
to  the  other,  and  directed  where  to  place  the  dabs 
of  paint  indicating  the  intended  roadbed.  Simi- 
larly suspended,  the  workmen  followed  the  en- 
gineers, drilling  holes  for  blasting,  and  tumbling 
down  loose  fragments,  until  they  had  won  a  foot- 
hold for  working  in  a  less  extraordinary  manner. 
Ten  months  of  steady  labor  were  spent  on  this 
canon-cutting — months  of  work  on  the  brink  of 
yawning  abysses  and  in  the  midst  of  falling  rocks- 
yet  not  one  serious  accident  occurred. 

"Often  it  seemed  as  though  another  hair's 
breadth  or  a  straw's  weight  would  have  sent  me 
headlong  over  the  edge,"  said  the  chief  engineer. 
The  shelf  of  the  roadbed  was  thus  made,  midway 
between  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  red  granite 
precipice,  about  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
river. 

The  Ophir  Loop  in  the  San  Miguel  Mountains  is 
an  intricate  maze  of  meandering  lines  and  abrupt 
curves.  Up  the  ascent  of  Marshall  Pass,  on  the 
serrated  crest  of  North  America,  the  train,  with 


200 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


UTE  PASS  PALISADES,   NEAR  MANITOU 

two  powerful  engines  attached,  climbs  grades  of 
two  hundred  eleven  feet  to  the  mile  until  the  ridge 
of  the  Saguache  Range  is  attained,  at  a  height  of 
more  than  two  miles.  Here  the  traveler  gets  a 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  267 

remarkable  view  of  majestic  mountains  in  all 
directions.  To  the  west  is  the  Pacific  slope,  and  to 
the  east  is  the  Atlantic  slope  in  the  valley  of  the 
Arkansas. 

Hagerman  Pass,  on  the  Midland,  reaches  a  still 
higher  point.  To  the  east,  between  Hagerman  and 
Leadville,  is  Busk  Tunnel,  two  miles  long,  cut  two 
thousand  feet  below  the  mountain-top.  A  little 
to  the  north  is  Hell  Gate,  which  presented  almost 
insuperable  obstacles  to  the  construction  engineer. 
With  the  utmost  difficulty  the  material  was  trans- 
ported, on  the  backs  of  burros,  up  the  steep  moun- 
tain trails.  Men  were  lowered  by  ropes  over  the 
brows  of  cliffs  two  thousand  feet  high,  and  there, 
dangling  like  painters  near  the  roof  of  a  skyscrap- 
er, they  blasted  a  roadbed  out  of  the  rocky  front 
of  the  gorge.  In  Hell  Gate  Loop  the  train  goes 
around  fourteen  miles  to  make  a  descent  of  only 
half  a  mile.  The  steep  grades  require  three  heavy 
locomotives  to  haul  freight  trains. 

The  Colorado  Springs  and  Cripple  Creek  Dis- 
trict Railway,  usually  called  the  Short  Line,  stands 
in  a  class  by  itself.  It  was  purposely  constructed 
on  high  mountain-slopes,  rather  than  in  ravines  and 
valleys,  in  order  that  the  largest  number  of  scenic 
attractions  might  be  obtained.  On  the  Short  Line 
the  traveler  looks  down  into  Cheyenne  Canon  and 
other  gorges;  he  gazes  across  stretches  of  country 


268  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

with  wondrous  heights  and  depths  in  every 
direction. 

Some  details  of  construction  are  given  to  show 
the  difficulty  of  building  a  mountain  railroad.  For 
a  large  part  of  the  way  the  roadbed  was  cut  out  of 
the  granite  on  the  east  and  south  sides  of  Pike's 
Peak.  The  track  is  forty-five  miles  long,  while 
the  air  line  between  Colorado  Springs  and  Cripple 
Creek  is  nineteen  miles.  The  bends  and  windings 
back  and  forth  make  up  the  extra  distance.  There 
are  spiral  curves  and  horseshoe  curves  by  the  score, 
spanning  the  yawning  abysses  and  twisting  around 
the  mountains.  One  of  the  most  difficult  engineer- 
ing achievements  on  the  line  was  effected  between 
Duffield  and  St.  Peter's  Dome,  three  miles  of  track 
being  laid  to  gain  a  distance  of  sixteen  hundred 
feet  and  an  elevation  of  five  hundred  forty  feet. 

From  Fountain  Creek  near  Manitou  the  road 
follows  the  Front  Range  of  the  Rockies  to  Summit, 
a  distance  of  nine  miles  by  air  line,  with  an  ele- 
vation of  almost  four  thousand  feet.  Because  of 
the  rugged  and  precipitous  character  of  the  country 
the  construction  engineer  found  it  necessary  to 
develop  twenty-one  miles  of  line  between  the  two 
points  nine  miles  apart.  He  ran  about  one 
hundred  miles  of  preliminary  lines  in  locating  the 
best  line  for  the  route. 

Less  difficulty  was  encountered  in  the  undulating 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  269 

surface  of  the  western  half  of  the  line.  Nine 
tunnels  were  bored  through  granite  and  hard  rock 
formations,  the  longest  tunnel  being  five  hundred 
thirty -two  feet.  While  the  roadbed  was  being 
built  immense  masses  of  rock  slid  down  the  slope 
upon  it,  greatly  hindering  the  work.  The  highest 
point  on  the  line  is  Hoosier  Pass,  which  affords  a 
magnificent  panorama  of  mountains  and  valleys. 
The  two-and-a-half  hours'  ride  over  this  high  rail- 
way presents  a  series  of  views  of  unexcelled  beauty 
and  sublimity. 

The  Denver,  Northwestern,  and  Pacific  is  said 
to  be  the  highest  railway  in  North  America.  It 
makes  a  short  cut  from  Denver  to  Salt  Lake, 
traversing  Middle  Park  and  portions  of  north- 
western Colorado.  In  the  ranges  of  Colorado  the 
roadbed  is  hewn  away  from  the  crags  a  great  deal 
of  the  way;  in  the  distance  of  thirty-five  miles  are 
twenty-nine  tunnels.  Sixty-six  miles  west  of  Den- 
ver trains  pass  through  a  tunnel  over  two  and  a 
half  miles  long  at  an  altitude  of  almost  ten  thousand 
feet.  In  other  places  immense  snow  sheds  serve 
to  protect  the  track,  or  it  would  be  buried  in  snow 
forty  feet  deep.  The  road  crosses  the  Divide  at 
an  elevation  of  over  eleven  thousand  feet,  the  high- 
est point  reached  by  a  standard  gage  railroad  in 
this  country.  It  passes  through  some  of  the  grand- 
est scenery  in  the  world. 


270 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


CROSSING  THE  CONTINENTAL  DIVIDE  IN  COLORADO 
Courtesy  Denver,  Northwestern  &  Pacific  Ry. 

The  fame  of  Pike's  Peak  has  gone  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  associated  with  its  greatness  is 
the  Cog  Wheel  Route,  by  which  name  the  Manitou 
and  Pike's  Peak  Railway  is  best  known.  It  was 
built  in  1889-90  to  enable  people  to  scale  the  peak 
without  undergoing  the  fatigue  of  climbing  up  the 
trail.  It  is  nine  miles  long,  and  in  this  distance  it 
overcomes  an  elevation  of  over  seven  thousand 
feet.  In  the  middle  of  the  track  are  the  two  Abt 
rack  rails  forming  a  ladder  of  notched  teeth,  to 
which  the  cog- wheel  clings.  These  rails  are  made 
of  the  best  Bessemer  steel,  and  are  eighty  inches 
long.  The  roadbed,  from  fifteen  to  twenty-two 


THE  RAILROADS  OF  COLORADO  271 

feet  wide,  is  for  the  most  part  of  solid  rock,  and 
the  track  is  firmly  anchored.  The  track  is  stand- 
ard gage,  like  that  on  Mount  Washington.  The 
locomotive  pushes  the  car  up  and  precedes  it  going 
down. 

A  similar  undertaking  was  the  building  of  the 
tourist  line  on  the  flanks  of  Gray's  Peak  to  the  top 
of  Mount  McClellan,  which  is  a  near  neighbor  of 
Torrey  and  Mount  Evans.  The  Argentine  Central 
Railway  was  opened  for  traffic  in  the  summer  of 
1906.  It  traverses  the  crest  of  the  Continental 
Divide,  and  snow-crowned  pinnacles  meet  the 
traveler's  gaze  on  every  hand.  Long's,  Pike's, 
Blanca,  the  Mount  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  other 
lofty  peaks  in  the  different  ranges  of  the  Rockies 
may  be  seen.  The  locomotive  is  specially  con- 
structed for  the  purpose,  its  pulling  power  being 
double  that  of  the  ordinary  engine  of  the  same 
weight. 


CHAPTER  XV 

IRRIGATION  IN  COLORADO 

EGYPT  is  the  gift  of  the  Nile.  It  is  equally  true 
that  agriculture  in  Colorado  is  the  gift  of  its  rivers, 
which  bring  down  from  the  mountains  the  waters 
that  make  fruitful  the  plains  and  valleys.  Before 
1870  there  was  no  farming  to  speak  of  in  Colorado. 
There  was  some  gardening  in  the  mountain  valleys 
and  stock  raising  on  the  plains,  but  agriculture 
was  chiefly  of  the  pastoral  kind  until  the  Union 
Colony  at  Greeley  attacked  in  earnest  the  problem 
of  irrigation.  The  founding  of  this  colony  in  1870 
was  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  Colorado's 
history.  The  conquest  of  the  Great  American 
Desert  was  at  hand. 

Hitherto  attempts  at  artificial  watering  of  crops 
had  been  made  on  a  small  scale,  but  the  methods 
employed  were  crude  and  results  were  small, 
though  encouraging.  Nathan  C.  Meeker,  the 
founder  of  Union  Colony,  had  great  faith  in  irriga- 
tion, with  little  practical  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
and  his  fellow  colonists  also  were  in  the  dark  as 
to  the  amount  of  water  needed  and  the  means 
of  getting  it.  "As  to  irrigation,"  Father  Meeker 

272 


IRRIGATION  IN  COLORADO  273 

wrote  in  the  Greeley  Tribune  (November  23,  1870), 
"all  of  our  people  think  it  makes  farming  a  scientific 
instead  of  an  uncertain  pursuit."  Some  of  them 
were  not  so  hopeful  as  Mr.  Meeker,  yet  they  went 
ahead  and  after  many  blunders  and  failures  they 
made  irrigation  a  success. 

Italy's  experiments  in  irrigation  helped  the  colony 
more  than  Utah's;  the  task  was  too  big  for  the  in- 
dividual and  had  to  be  undertaken  by  the  commu- 
nity. One  ditch  after  another  was  constructed,  not 
only  in  the  Poudre  valley,  but  elsewhere  in  the 
Centennial  State.  So  great  were  the  engineering 
difficulties  in  some  instances  that  state  aid  or 
corporate  capital  was  required  for  the  building  of 
canals  and  dams,  the  spanning  of  ravines  with  pipes 
and  flumes,  and  for  other  expensive  works,  such  as 
the  cutting  of  tunnels  through  the  rock. 

As  a  result  of  the  beginnings  made  by  the  Greeley 
farmers,  a  vast  system  of  irrigation  has  grown  up  in 
the  desert  east  of  the  Rockies.  In  the  last  decade 
the  area  of  irrigated  lands  has  been  greatly  extended, 
not  only  in  the  Poudre  valley  and  the  vicinity  of 
Denver  but  in  other  parts  of  Colorado.  At  present 
the  acreage  under  irrigation  is  greater  than  that  in 
any  other  state,  California  ranking  next.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  of  the  total  area  of  irrigated 
lands  in  the  United  States  in  1902  Colorado  had 
nearly  one  fifth. 


274  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  inroads  already  made  on  arid  Colorado  have 
brought  the  means  of  a  livelihood  to  thousands  of 
families.  When  the  Gunnison  Tunnel  shall  have 
been  brought  to  successful  completion,  in  1900,  a 
host  of  settlers  will  be  provided  with  farms  in 
the  Uncompahgre  valley.  This  is  a  government 
enterprise,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  state  private 
capital  has  been  subscribed  for  the  reclamation  of 
barren  ground,  and  in  a  few  years  there  will  be  an 
increase  of  tens  of  thousands  of  irrigated  farms. 

o 

These  openings  have  already  attracted  many  home- 
seekers  from  eastern  states  and  from  foreign 
countries. 

Like  other  Rocky  Mountain  states,  Colorado  has 
a  dry  climate.  Its  rainfall  is  deficient,  being  about 
one  half  of  what  prevails  in  the  states  on  the 
Atlantic  coast.  In  the  farming  regions  of  eastern 
Colorado  the  rainfall  varies  from  six  to  fifteen 
inches  per  annum.  In  the  Poudre  valley  the  aver- 
age rainfall  is  from  eleven  to  twelve  inches,  two 
thirds  of  it  falling  in  the  months  from  April  to 
August  inclusive. 

The  mountains  rob  the  plains  of  moisture.  On 
the  top  of  Pike's  Peak  the  yearly  precipitation,  in 
the  shape  of  snowT  and  rain,  is  nearly  forty  inches, 
while  at  Denver  it  is  fifteen  inches.  The  moun- 
tain snows  melt  in  springtime  and  swell  the  waters 
of  the  South  Platte  and  Arkansas  rivers,  thus 


IRRIGATION  IX  COLORADO  275 

producing  occasional  floods  in  the  Missouri  and 
Mississippi  valleys.  This  enormous  waste  of  water 
can  be  prevented  by  storing  it  in  reservoirs  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  to  be  used  for  irrigating 
the  prairies  now  insufficiently  watered. 

In  the  rain  belt  or  the  "Divide"  (as  the  country 
east  of  Palmer  Lake  is  called)  there  is  often 
enough  rainfall  for  raising  good  crops,  but  it  is  not 
to  be  depended  upon  regularly,  one  season  and 
another.  A  wet  year  is  apt  to  be  followed  by  a 
year  of  drought.  Farmers  of  the  Divide  are  now 
realizing  the  advantages  of  irrigation,  although  it 
is  less  necessary  for  successful  agriculture  here  than 
in  other  sections  of  eastern  Colorado. 

It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  the  fall  of  rain 
and  snow  is  unevenly  distributed.  Much  of  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  suddenly  in  cloudbursts,  so  called, 
which  swell  dry  creek  beds  into  torrents.  Soon 
the  overflow  of  water  disappears  and  is  for  the  most 
part  lost,  unless  saved  by  the  forethought  and  de- 
vices of  man.  Some  system  of  irrigation  (with 
reservoirs,  canals,  dams,  and  ditches)  is  necessary 
to  meet  the  conditions  of  the  case. 

To  irrigation  is  largely  due  the  development  of 
the  regions  once  supposed  to  be  a  wilderness  al- 
most as  sterile  as  Sahara.  It  transforms  the  sage- 
brush plain  into  fields  of  wheat  and  potatoes.  It 
makes  the  prairie  tenfold  more  valuable  for  grazing. 


276 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


It  covers  arid  slopes  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
alfalfa,  which  is  by  far  the  best  forage  for  horses 
and  cattle.  It  brings  forth  gardens  and  orchards, 
which  are  in  some  places  more  profitable  even  than 
field  crops.  In  a  word,  irrigation  makes  farming  a 


IRRIGATING  GRAIN,  NEAR  GREELEY 

success  in  these  arid  wastes,  for  without  it  immense 
areas  would  be  barren — not  because  the  soil  is 
unfertile,  but  because  water  is  scarce.  Irrigation 
makes  possible  scientific  agriculture  in  place  of  the 
old-time  haphazard  style  of  farming. 

In  a  sense  farming  is  a  success  in  the  little  moun- 
tain valleys  adjacent  to  streams,  where  the  eleva- 


IRRIGATION  IX  COLORADO  277 

tion  is  not  too  high  (from  four  thousand  to  six 
thousand  feet) .  However,  these  green  oases  do  not 
raise  enough  vegetables  and  grains  for  home  con- 
sumption. The  bulk  of  the  farm  products  of  Colo- 
rado comes  from  irrigated  tracts  in  the  extensive 
plains  or  parks  watered  by  rivers  and  their 
tributaries. 

The  water  supply  of  the  state  comes  chiefly  from 
the  six  principal  streams — the  South  Platte  River, 
in  northeastern  Colorado;  the  x\rkansas  River, 
in  southeastern  Colorado;  the  Rio  Grande  and 
San  Juan  rivers  in  the  south,  and  the  Grand  and 
Green  rivers  in  the  west.  The  Green  River  divides 
into  two  main  branches — the  Yampa  River  in  Routt 
County  and  the  White  River  in  Rio  Blanco  County. 
There  are,  therefore,  six  drainage  basins  in  Colo- 
rado, or  seven,  if  the  White  River  country  be 
considered  one. 

The  South  Platte  drainage  basin  includes  irri- 
gated tracts  in  fourteen  counties — roughly  speaking, 
the  northeast  quarter  of  the  state.  The  Platte 
basin  embraces  Denver  and  other  populous  cities, 
and  it  contains  the  richest  farming  communities  in 
Colorado.  Indeed,  there  are  no  better  agricul- 
tural sections  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  United 
States  than  those  around  Greeley  and  Longmont. 

The  headwaters  of  the  South  Platte  River  are  in 
the  mountains  of  the  Park  Range  near  Leadville. 


27S  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

In  its  northward  course  it  is  fed  by  numerous 
streams  rising  in  the  Front  Range.  Reservoirs 
have  been  built  in  the  mountains  and  foothills,  and 
on  the  plains.  There  is  still  some  waste  of  water, 
and  if  it  were  more  carefully  husbanded,  larger 
areas  of  fertile  land  could  be  cultivated. 

"The  most  completely  developed  of  the  reservoir 
systems  is  probably  that  on  the  Cache  a  la  Pond  re 
River,  a  tributary  of  the  South  Platte.  .  .  .  Water 
is  held  in  the  layers  of  sand  and  gravel  which  have 
been  deposited  at  various  depths  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  plains.  Investigations  indicate  that 
this  supply  is  large,  and  that  considerable  areas 
of  valuable  land,  located  at  too  great  an  elevation 
to  be  irrigated  by  gravity  diversion  of  water,  will 
ultimately  be  reclaimed  by  utilizing  the  under- 
flow." 

In  1900  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Arkansas  River 
included  over  one  hundred  eighty-five  thousand 
square  miles.  The  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas  are 
high  up  in  the  Park  Range,  north  of  Buena  Vista. 
In  the  spring  it  is  swelled  by  the  waters  of  its  tribu- 
taries, Fountain  Creek,  the  St.  Charles,  and  other 
rivers  of  the  plains.  In  summer  the  supply  of  water 
is  insufficient  for  the  land  under  ditch,  and  a  short- 
age of  crops  results.  The  remedy  lies  in  building 
more  reservoirs,  in  which  water  may  be  stored 
against  the  dry  months'  sun  to  come.  Bessemer 


IRRIGATION  IN  COLORADO  270 

ditch  waters  thirty  thousand  acres  of  mesa  lands 
near  Pueblo.  Here  fruits  and  vegetables,  as  well 
as  field  crops,  are  successfully  cultivated. 

"The  average  size  of  the  farms  in  the  Upper  Ar- 
kansas valley  is  very  small,  the  majority  of  them 
ranging  from  five  to  twenty  acres.  This  land  is 
chiefly  in  orchards  and  the  average  value  per  acre 
is  the  highest  in  the  state.  Where  the  valley 
broadens,  the  canals  become  more  extensive  and 
important,  and  the  farms  increase  in  size.  Vast 
fields  of  alfalfa  stretch  for  miles  along  the  big 
ditches,  producing  winter  forage  and  affording  late 
fall  pasturage  for  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep  that 
graze  on  the  free  range  in  the  spring  and  summer. 
The  acreage  in  wheat,  oats,  and  corn  is  large,  and 
the  yields  are  uniformly  good.  This  valley  is 
especially  adapted  to  the  raising  of  sugar  beets, 
and  the  industry  is  growing  in  importance." 

The  Rio  Grande  basin  has  an  area  of  over  sev- 
enty-five hundred  square  miles,  lying  to  the  south 
and  east  of  the  Continental  Divide.  The  Rio 
Grande,  rising  in  the  San  Juan  Mountains,  flows  in 
a  southeasterly  direction  through  the  San  Luis  Park 
or  valley.  The  farmers  here  depend  chiefly  upon 
artesian  wells  for  irrigation,  but  the  supply  of  arte- 
sian water  is  often  insufficient,  and  it  is  not  so  well 
handled  as  is  water  from  a  gravity  ditch.  The 
southern  part  of  the  valley  is  not  so  well  provided 


280  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

with  water  as  is  the  central.     Near  the  state  line 
the  Rio  Grande  has  a  low  channel  in  summer. 

The  San  Juan  basin  lies  southwest  of  the  San 
Juan  Mountains.  The  rich  valley  lands  in  Archu- 
leta  and  La  Plata  counties  are  supplied  with  wrater 
by  ditches  from  the  San  Juan  River  and  its  tribu- 
taries, the  Pinos,  Las  Animas,  and  La  Plata  rivers. 
The  area  irrigated  in  the  San  Juan  valley,  while 
not  yet  large,  is  growing. 

The  Grand  River  basin  drains  an  extensive  area 
of  plateaus  and  valleys  in  western  Colorado.  The 
sources  of  the  Grand  River  are  in  the  mountains 
in  the  central  part  of  the  state.  It  has  several 
tributaries — Eagle  River,  the  Roaring  Fork,  the 
Gunnison,  and  the  Dolores.  Much  of  the  country 
is  rough,  but  there  are  many  small  valleys  in  the 
Rockies  that  are  under  ditch,  with  an  ample  supply 
of  water.  There  are  no  reservoirs,  however,  and 
at  times  water  is  scarce. 

The  Uncompahgre  valley,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Montrose,  is  irrigated  from  the  Uncompahgre  and 
Cimarron  rivers.  The  country  that  Captain  Gun- 
nison considered  a  barren  waste  now  brings  forth 
grains  and  fruits  in  abundance.  Large  sections  of 
excellent  farming  lands  in  the  valley  are  now 
sparsely  populated  because  of  the  lack  of  water. 
The  Gunnison  Tunnel,  when  completed,  will  solve 
the  problem  of  getting  water. 


IRRIGATION  IX  COLORADO  281 

A  comparatively  small  district  of  the  Monte- 
zuma  valley,  lying  north  of  the  Ute  reservation,  is 
under  irrigation.  Its  climate,  like  that  of  the  pro- 
ductive valley  northeast  of  Durango,  is  almost  ideal, 
and  the  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile.  As  yet  there  are 
no  reservoirs,  the  water  being  conveyed  only  a  short 
distance  from  the  Dolores  River  by  means  of  ditches 
and  flumes.  Early  in  the  season  streams  are  high; 
in  July  water  is  low.  By  artificial  storage  abun- 
dance of  water  would  be  available  for  agricultural 
purposes.  A  project  is  under  way  to  construct  a 
reservoir  which  will  irrigate  twenty  thousand  acres 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley. 

In  the  Grand  River  valley,  west  of  Palisade,  there 
are  some  large  irrigation  ditches,  which  supply  water 
in  abundance  to  farms  and  orchards  near  Grand 
River.  Although  alfalfa,  beets  and  other  crops 
are  raised  successfully,  the  region  is  best  known  as 
a  fruit  country.  "Water  is  furnished  to  bench 
lands  along  the  Grand  River  by  a  number  of  pump- 
ing plants.  These  benches  rise  terracelike  above 
the  valley  of  the  stream  and  lie  between  the  valley 
and  the  plateau.  Several  pumping  plants  now  in 
successful  operation  at  Grand  Junction  are  operated 
by  water  power." 

The  Green  River  basin  has  a  narrow  strip  of 
irrigated  lands  along  the  river  in  the  western  part 
of  Routt  County.  The  valley  of  the  Yampa  River 


282  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

is  watered  by  ditches  constructed  by  farmers  and 
ranchmen.  A  large  part  of  Routt  County  away 
from  the  river  is  uncultivated.  The  irrigated  area 
is  small.  The  irrigated  portion  of  the  White  River 
country,  in  Rio  Blanco  County,  is  slight,  owing  to 
the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  lack  of  trans- 
portation facilities.  There  is  a  considerable  vol- 
ume of  water  in  White  River,  and  projects  are  under 
way  for  the  extension  of  irrigation  ditches.  At 
present  the  region  is  chiefly  a  grazing  country. 

Since  1880  twenty  thousand  miles  of  main  irri- 
gating canals  have  been  constructed  in  the  Cen- 
tennial State,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  million  dollars. 
Under  these  canals  twenty-eight  thousand  farms, 
with  an  acreage  of  two  and  a  half  millions,  are  being 
cultivated.  An  additional  four  million  acres  might 
be  cultivated  by  means  of  supplemental  reservoirs. 

The  advantages  of  irrigation  farming  are  now 
generally  recognized,  not  only  in  the  arid  states  of 
the  West,  but  in  the  humid  East  and  South.  When 
water  is  abundant,  irrigation  is  far  ahead  of  rainfall 
for  cereals,  forage,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  The 
increased  production  soon  brings  back  the  original 
outlay  for  canals  and  other  works.  The  weather 
here  favors  the  growth  of  abundant  crops,  with  the 
element  of  moisture  under  control  as  it  is  in  agricul- 
ture by  irrigation.  There  is  a  gain  not  only  in 
quantity  but  in  quality. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO 

WHILE  mining  is  the  distinguishing  industry  of 
Colorado,  it  is  not  the  chief  source  of  wealth.  Of 
late  years  the  soil  of  the  plains  and  mountain 
valleys  has  produced  more  treasure  annually  than 
the  mines. 

When  Captain  Pike  crossed  the  plains  a  century 
ago,  he  described  the  region  between  the  Missouri 
River  and  the  Rockies  as  being  "incapable  of 
cultivation."  Later,  Major  Long  and  Dr.  James 
traversed  the  semi-arid  portion  of  the  Louisiana 
Territory  and  declared  it  to  be  an  uninhabitable 
wilderness.  The  route  of  their  expedition  was 
traced  on  a  map,  on  which  the  most  fertile  part  of 
the  West  is  marked  "Great  American  Desert." 
This  so-called  desert  extended  from  Texas  to  South 
Dakota,  and  included  the  eastern  part  of  Colorado. 
An  agricultural  country  of  unbounded  possibilities 
was  characterized  by  these  early  explorers  as  the 
perpetual  abode  of  desolation.  The  error  wTas  per- 
petuated in  the  school  geographies,  and  the  result 
was  a  mistaken  notion  that  retarded  the  settlement 
of  the  West  for  many  years. 

2S3 


284  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  discovery  of  gold  brought  the  Pike's  Peakers 
by  tens  of  thousands,  and  some  of  them  began 
gardening  and  farming  in  a  small  way.  Bumper 
crops  of  grain'  and  vegetables  of  mammoth  pro- 
portions were  raised  in  the  river  bottoms,  which 
were  irrigated  with  little  trouble.  Then  ditches 
were  dug  to  water  the  uplands.  The  "barren 
waste"  was  found  to  be  wonderfully  productive. 
The  melted  snow  in  the  running  streams  was  made 
to  do  duty  in  place  of  rain. 

In  1866  at  least  fifty  thousand  acres  were  under 
cultivation.  At  that  time  the  Surveyor-General 
estimated  that  there  were  two  and  a  half  million 
acres  of  arable  land  in  the  territory.  Forty 
years  have  passed,  and  now  there  are  said  to 
be  over  twenty -two  million  acres  of  arable  land. 
These  constitute  one  third  of  the  area  of  the 
state. 

Of  the  sixty-six  odd  millions  of  acres  in  Colo- 
rado, less  than  three  millions  are  under  actual 
cultivation.  Limited  as  is  the  area  available  for 
agriculture,  it  is  forging  to  the  front  as  a  farming 
state.  Longmont  is  famous  for  its  "thousand 
waves  of  wheat."  The  Rocky  Ford  melons  and 
the  Greeley  potatoes  are  known  throughout  the 
country,  if  not  all  over  the  world.  The  Grand 
valley  pears  and  apples  are  peerless  among  fruits. 
Elberta  peaches  are  as  luscious  as  those  of  the 


AGRICULTURE  IX  COLORADO  285 

Michigan  Peach  Belt,  and  the  Montrose  honey  has 
no  superior  anywhere. 

Geographers  have  had  to  revise  their  earlier 
notions  of  the  semi-arid  district  that  was  formerly 
labeled  "The  Great  American  Desert."  For  one 
thing,  it  is  not  true  that  Colorado  is  a  rainless 
country.  Gannett  says:  "The  plains  to  the  east  of 
the  mountains  and  the  plateaus  to  the  west  have  an 
annual  rainfall  of  less  than  twenty  inches,  decreas- 
ing in  some  localities,  especially  in  the  western  part, 
to  ten  inches  or  even  less.  In  the  mountains  the 
rainfall  is  greater,  exceeding  thirty  inches.  The 
distribution  of  rainfall  throughout  the  year  is 
peculiar  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  region;  instead 
of  falling  mainly  in  the  winter  time,  as  is  the  case 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  the  summer  is  the  rainy  season, 
and  instead  of  long  storms  the  rain  comes  in  the 
form  of  showers.  At  Denver  five  sixths  of  the 
annual  precipitation  falls  from  May  to  October, 
inclusive,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  State  the  pro- 
portion in  these  months  is  from  two  thirds  to  nine 
tenths  of  the  total  annual  precipitation.  The 
cause  of  this  phenomenon  is  that  in  winter  the 
ranges  bordering  the  Pacific  (this  ocean  being  the 
source  of  precipitation  for  the  entire  western 
country)  take  practically  all  the  moisture  from 
the  vapor-laden  winds  coming  off  that  ocean,  while 
in  summer,  owing  to  the  fact  that  these  ranges  are 


2SG  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

relatively  warmer,  a  part  of  the  moisture  is  earned 
over  to  the  interior  country." 

Most  of  the  fertile  land  of  Colorado  is  found  in 
the  valleys  (so  called),  of  which  there  are  more 
than  a  dozen  of  some  prominence.  The  third  of 
the  state  east  of  the  mountains  would  be  naturally 
described  as  plains  or  prairies;  yet  it  embraces  in 
the  north  the  South  Platte  valley  and  the  Poudre 
valley.  The  Arkansas  valley  occupies  a  stretch 
of  country  two  hundred  miles  long,  in  southeastern 
Colorado;  it  is  watered  by  the  Arkansas  River  and 
its  tributaries.  To  the  southwest  lie  the  Wet 
Mountain,  Huerfano,  and  Stonewall  valleys, 
hemmed  in  by  the  Rockies.  The  San  Luis  valley 
is  enclosed  by  mountains  in  southern  Colorado. 
South  of  the  San  Juan  Range  is  the  San  Juan 
valley,  which  borders  on  the  northwest  the  Aninuis 
valley  near  Durango.  In  Montezuma  county  is 
the  great  Montezuma  valley  or  park,  with  the 
lite  Reservation  to  the  south.  Farther  north  are 
Gypsum,  the  Paradox  (or  Shenandoah),  the  Un- 
compahgre,  the  North  Fork,  the  Eagle  River,  and 
the  Grand  River  valleys.  In  northwest  Colorado, 
which  is  a  broken  country  better  adapted  to  grazing 
than  crops,  are  the  valleys  of  the  Green  River,  the 
Bear  River,  and  the  White  River  (in  Rio  Blanco 
County). 

Besides  the  valleys  already  named  are  others  not 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO  287 

so  large.  Nestling  in  the  mountains  are  emerald 
meadows  that  look  like  oases  in  the  wilderness. 
These  fertile  garden  spots,  sheltered  by  the  Rockies, 
grow  vegetables  in  profusion,  to  say  nothing  of 
fruits  and  the  cereals.  Some  of  these  mountain 
meadows  or  basins  may  be  a  half-mile  wide  and 
several  miles  long,  including  ranches  of  from  forty 
to  three  hundred  acres  of  highly  productive  land 
that  is  usually  planted  to  alfalfa,  wheat,  oats,  and 
garden  truck.  The  mountain-slopes,  too,  are  far 
far  from  being  valueless,  agriculturally  speaking. 
Cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  goats  feed  on  high  eleva- 
tions. They  find,  however,  only  scattering  patches 
of  verdure,  the  best  soil  having  been  washed  by 
erosion  into  the  valleys  and  canons. 

The  Platte  valley  is  known  chiefly  as  a  grazing 
country,  because  of  the  abundance  of  the  nutri- 
tious grama  or  buffalo  grass.  It  was  once  the 
feedinp'-OTOund  of  enormous  herds  of  bison.  Then 

c)    o 

came  the  days  of  the  cattle  kings  and  cowboys. 
With  the  disappearance  of  the  open  range  the  vast 
ranches,  covered  by  thousands  of  cattle,  were  cut 
up  into  small  farms,  and  irrigation  made  general 
farming  possible.  In  some  sections  stock  raising- 
is  still  the  paramount  interest.  The  grama  grass 
makes  the  best  beef  in  the  world;  but,  because  of 
its  scarcity,  it  is  supplemented  by  beet  tops  and 
alfalfa  (especially  in  winter). 


288  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  climate  is  conducive  to  stock  growing. 
Colorado  is  a  land  of  sunshine;  three  hundred 
days  of  the  year  are  sunny,  and  the  air  is  dry.  A 
majority  of  the  winters  are  mild.  On  both  sides 
of  the  Platte  River  water  is  plentifully  supplied  to 
farms  by  canals  and  laterals.  The  soil  is  rich  and 
brings  forth  excellent  crops  of  alfalfa,  wheat, 
barley,  potatoes,  and  sugar  beets.  As  irrigation 
has  been  extended,  settlers  have  poured  into  Weld, 
Morgan,  Logan,  Washington,  and  other  counties. 
They  are  for  the  most  part  Americans,  intelligent 
and  well-to-do,  and  there  is  room  for  many  more. 
While  they  still  fatten  cattle  and  sheep  for  the 
market,  conditions  are  favorable  for  intensive 
farming.  More  fruit  might  be  grown,  and  honey 
bees  might  be  kept  with  profit. 

The  Poudre  valley  is  more  thickly  populated 
than  the  Platte  between  La  Salle  and  Julesburg. 
When  Father  Meeker  and  the  Union  colonists 
came  to  Greeley  in  the  spring  of  1870,  settlers  in 
the  valley  were  few  and  far  between.  The  site  of 
the  "Forest  City"  was  then  a  cactus  plain,  the 
home  of  prairie  dogs  and  wolves.  Only  a  mile 
or  so  from  town,  antelopes  came  down  to  the 
river  to  drink,  and  herds  of  buffalo  could  be  found 
not  far  away  on  the  plains.  However,  Meeker 
saw  the  opportunities  for  farming  successfully  if 
the  country  wrere  irrigated.  "The  whole  region," 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO  289 

he  wrote  in  the  Greeley  Tribune  (November  30, 
1870),  "from  the  Cache  la  Poudre  south  to  Denver 
is  perhaps  the  best  watered  and  the  most  desirable 
locality  for  all  purposes — fruit,  farming,  or  stock 
raising — in  America." 

Time  has  justified  the  faith  of  the  colonists  and 
proved  the  wisdom  of  their  selection;  the  Poudre 
valley  is  indeed  the  garden  spot  of  Colorado.  While 
it  is  not  a  great  fruit  country,  large  crops  of  beets, 
cabbages,  and  onions  are  raised.  Wheat  is  a 
staple;  when  not  injured  by  hailstorms,  it  yields 
from  thirty  to  sixty  bushels  an  acre.  The  nights 
are  too  cold  to  admit  of  the  growing  of  corn. 
Alfalfa,  with  three  crops  or  cuttings  a  season,  has 
been  the  salvation  of  the  country.  It  is  valuable 
not  only  for  forage  but  as  a  fertilizer.  Its  roots 
run  deep  into  the  soil  and  bring  up  nourishment 
from  a  depth  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet.  Its  luxiuriant 
stubble,  when  plowed  under  in  the  rotation  of 
crops,  enriches  the  land  and  makes  the  following 
crop  an  exceptional  one.  Alfalfa,  sometimes  called 
lucerne,  was  introduced  in  the  early  sixties.  It 
had  previously  been  grown  in  South  America, 
Mexico,  Utah,  and  California;  the  Mexicans  seem 
to  have  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  making  it  a 
common  crop  throughout  the  states  and  territories 
of  the  Southwest. 

The  Greeley  country  is  most  noted  for  potatoes. 


290 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


The  potato  belt  embraces  a  district  that  is,  roughly 
speaking,  about  twenty  miles  square.  It  includes 
on  the  east  the  towns  of  La  Salle,  Evans,  Kersey, 
Greeley,  Eaton,  and  Ault;  and  on  the  west,  Fort 
Collins  and  Loveland.  There  is  something  in  the 


BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY  AT  LONGMONT 

soil  and  air  that  makes  potatoes  flourish  around 
Greeley.  They  do  well  in  other  parts  of  Colorado, 
but  nowrhere  else  are  they  raised  so  extensively. 
Potato  fields  of  from  thirty  to  sixty  acres  may  often 
be  seen  in  Pleasant  valley,  and  a  quarter-section  is 
not  unknown.  The  yield  runs  from  two  hundred 
to  five  hundred  bushels  an  acre  on  good  ground. 
Potatoes  do  best  on  alfalfa  land.  White  Pearls 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO  291 

and  Oliios  are  the  kinds  most  commonly  planted. 
Pioneer  agriculturists  of  Colorado  got  as  high  as 
one  hundred  bushels  an  acre  with  natural  rainfall, 
but  by  artificial  watering  the  crop  is  doubled  and 
trebled.  As  to  quality,  the  Greeley  potato  is  said 
to  be  the  finest  in  the  world;  its  dimensions  are 
phenomenal,  tubers  being  sometimes  four  by  six 
inches.  Two  dozen  have  been  known  to  make  a 
bushel.  The  crop  in  the  Poudre  valley  varies 
from  four  to  five  million  bushels  a  year.  The 
harvesting  of  the  potatoes  consumes  five  or  six 
weeks  in  autumn,  and  some  ten  thousand  extra 
workers  are  needed  then. 

In  the  sixties  there  was  a  small  settlement  around 
Fort  Collins.  It  was  only  a  military  post  or  camp, 
not  a  fort.  The  town  was  laid  out  in  1871  and  has 
grown  to  be  a  flourishing  city,  with  a  large  sugar- 
beet  plant.  The  beet  crop  is  perhaps  the  best. 
Beet  pulp  has  turned  out  to  be  a  first-class  food 
for  fattening  pigs  and  lambs.  Wheat,  alfalfa,  and 
fruit  are  raised  with  marked  success.  Similar 
conditions  prevail  in  the  neighborhood  of  Long- 
mont  and  Loveland.  Sheltered  by  the  foothills, 
these  sections  surpass  Greeley  in  growing  apples, 
pears,  cherries,  and  other  fruits.  Honey,  too,  is 
a  valuable  product.  Wheat  and  barley  yield  big- 
crops. 

The  Divide  or  rain  belt  east  of  Palmer  Lake  used 


292  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

to  be  considered  a  good  farming  country  before 
irrigation  had  wrought  a  marvelous  transformation 
in  arid  Colorado.  It  still  has  good  crops  in  some 
years,  but  it  is  more  of  a  dairy  country  than  one 
adapted  to  the  growing  of  grain.  The  ground  is 
rolling  and  much  of  it  wooded.  Around  Elbert  is 
a  potato  belt,  some  twenty  miles  long  and  ten  wide. 
The  potatoes  are  of  fine  quality;  the  farmers  fur- 
nish seed  for  the  Greeley  ranchers. 

The  watercourses  of  this  region  are  dry  the 
greater  part  of  the  year,  and  yet  irrigation  might 
be  practised  to  a  slight  extent.  Storms  come  up 
suddenly,  and  the  creeks  are  raging  torrents  for 
several  hours;  a  part  of  the  flood  could  be  saved 
and  stored  for  use  when  needed.  An  inch  of  water 
added  now  and  then  would  make  a  vast  difference 
in  the  yield  of  grain,  potatoes,  or  hay.  Old 
settlers  declare  there  is  more  rain  now  than  there 
was  thirty  years  ago.  The  precipitation  varies 
from  twelve  to  seventeen  inches.  In  Lincoln,  Kit 
Carson,  and  Cheyenne  counties,  "dry  farming" 
has  lately  been  something  of  a  success.  The 
Campbell  system  of  soil  culture  is  coming  into 
vogue  with  promising  results.  The  Divide  is 
sparsely  populated. 

The  Arkansas  valley  is  larger  even  than  that  of 
the  Platte.  It  is  a  stretch  of  open  country  two 
hundred  mile's  long,  containing  between  one  million 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO  293 

and  two  million  acres,  of  which  some  four  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  are  improved  and  cultivated. 
The  mild  climate  makes  it  better  adapted  to  corn 
than  most  other  parts  of  the  Centennial  State. 
The  yield  of  wheat  in  some  places  almost  equals 
that  of  the  wheat  belt  around  Longmont,  and 
other  cereals  do  well.  Potatoes,  tomatoes,  and 
other  vegetables  are  successfully  grown.  Otero 
County  is  famed  for  its  cantaloupes.  In  the  or- 
chards around  Florence  and  Canon  City  apples, 
peaches,  grapes  and  other  fruits  flourish.  The 
Arkansas  valley  is  renowned  for  its  sugar  beets,  and 
it  rivals  northern  Colorado  as  a  stock  country. 
Pueblo,  the  Pittsburgh  of  the  West,  is  fast  becom- 
ing a  livestock  center.  The  pork-packing  industry 
is  growing. 

The  San  Luis  Park  is  the  largest  of  the  upland 
valleys  of  Colorado.  It  is  two  hundred  miles 
long  and  from  forty  to  seventy  miles  wide,  having 
an  area  greater  than  that  of  Connecticut.  Its 
altitude  is  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  temperature  here  in  summer 
is  cooler  than  that  of  the  Platte  valley,  in  northern 
Colorado.  The  three  counties — Saguache,  Cos- 
tilla,  and  Conejos — which  make  up  the  San  Luis 
valley,  are  thinly  settled,  averaging  perhaps  three 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile. 

Leaving  the  foothills  (where  one  may  run  across 


294  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

deer  and  bear),  the  traveler  finds  himself  in  the 
historic  town  of  Garland,  with  its  one-story  adobe 
houses.  Ranches  stretch  away  on  all  sides,  the 
land  being  level  or  gently  sloping.  It  is  mostly 
pasture,  or  sagebrush,  with  no  living  thing  in  sight 
for  miles  and  miles  except  rabbits  and  prairie  dogs. 
If  irrigated,  it  would  be  highly  productive,  for  the 
ground  is  rich. 

The  valley  was  formerly  a  vast  lake,  and  the 
sediment  washed  down  from  the  mountains  forms 
the  soil,  of  varying  thickness.  Not  more  than  half 
of  the  arable  land  is  cultivated.  Along  the  rivers 
and  their  tributaries  water  is  easily  and  inexpen- 
sively obtained  for  irrigation,  but  there  are  wide 
expanses  of  fine  farming  land  not  easily  irrigated 
except  by  the  reservoir  system.  On  some  ranches 
artesian  wells  afford  abundant  supplies  of  water. 
The  wrells  are  of  varying  depth,  from  fifty  to 
four  hundred  feet;  the  water  is  absolutely  pure, 
being  filtered  in  running  through  deep  layers  of 
sand  and  gravel.  Often  the  artesian  water  supply 
is  insufficient  for  irrigating  a  forty-acre  tract.  From 
all  sources  in  the  Rio  Grande  Drainage  basin 
water  was  artificially  applied  to  three  hundred 
thousand  acres  in  1902. 

Where  water  is  plentiful  in  the  San  Luis  valley, 
nature  is  lavish  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  Old 
residents  tell  of  extraordinary  crops  of  oats,  barley, 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO 


295 


wheat,  and  potatoes.  There  are  two  crops  of 
alfalfa,  each  cutting  three  tons  to  the  acre.  Sugar 
beets  grow  abundantly.  Peas  are  a  great  feed 
crop;  lambs  and  pigs  are  turned  loose  into  the 
fields  and  do  the  harvesting.  Hogs  are  raised  and 
fattened  here  more  cheaply  than  in  the  corn  districts 


A  BEET  FIELD  NEAR  FORT  COLLINS 

of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.     Stock  raising  bids  fair 
to  become  the  leading  industry. 

The  Animas  valley  lies  northeast  of  Durango. 
It  is  fifteen  miles  long  and  its  width  is  two  miles  or 
less.  Where  the  land  may  be  irrigated  by  river 
water,  it  produces  good  crops  of  timothy,  alfalfa, 
wheat,  and  oats.  In  the  sheltered  slopes  and 
basins  are  orchards  where  apples,  pears,  apricots, 


296  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

prunes,  cherries,  currants,  and  berries  are  grown 
successfully.  As  in  the  San  Luis  valley,  the  season 
is  too  short  for  melons  and  vegetables.  Fall  Creek 
valley  and  other  agricultural  regions  of  limited 
extent  are  found  in  the  La  Plata  Mountains.  To 
the  south  is  the  great  San  Juan  valley,  which  is 
well  adapted  to  general  fanning  and  stock  raising. 

The  Montezuma  valley  is  the  most  favored  part 
of  southwestern  Colorado.  Owing  to  the  lack  of 
reservoirs,  the  artificial  water  supply  is  small. 
Experiments  made  in  the  irrigated  country  around 
Cortez  show  the  land  to  be  especially  valuable  for 
the  growing  of  grain  and  fruit.  The  district  is  an 
excellent  one  for  sugar  beets.  An  area  of  twelve 
thousand  acres  wras  under  cultivation  in  1907. 
Extensive  tracts  of  sagebrush  lands  might  be  re- 
claimed at  no  great  expense;  above  eighty  thousand 
acres  are  uncultivated  for  lack  of  irrigation  canals 
and  reservoirs.  In  addition  to  its  other  natural 
advantages,  the  Montezuma  valley  has  plenty  of 
timber  and  fine  building  stone. 

The  Uncompahgre  valley  wTas  thrown  open  for 
settlement  in  1881,  the  Indians  having  been  removed 
to  another  reservation.  The  famous  chief  Ouray 
recognized  the  agricultural  possibilities  of  this 
valley,  which  includes  about  one  hundred  fifty 
thousand  acres  in  Montrose  and  Delta  counties. 
Although  the  Utes  called  it  the  Valley  of  Foun- 


AGRICULTURE  IX  COLORADO  297 

tains,  the  white  settlers  soon  began  to  suffer  for 
lack  of  water,  and  many  of  them  abandoned  their 
claims.  It  is  sparsely  populated  away  from  the 
rivers.  Captain  Gunnison  traversed  the  valley  in 
1853,  and  he  reported  it  unfit  for  cultivation.  It 
has  since  been  amply  demonstrated  that  the  soil 
is  exceedingly  fertile.  Unlike  prairie  sod,  the 
sagebrush  land  is  easily  plowed  after  it  is  cleared 
of  grease- wood,  and  the  task  of  removing  the  latter 
is  one  of  slight  difficulty. 

The  average  altitude  of  this  region  is  about 
fifty-five  hundred  feet.  The  one  thing  lacking  is 
water,  for  there  is  little  rain  on  the  western  slope, 
ten  inches  or  less.  In  other  respects  the  climate  is 
nearly  perfect.  Almost  ideal  conditions  prevail 
for  general  farming  and  fruit  growing  where  enough 
water  is  present.  Large  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  and 
alfalfa  are  raised.  The  valley  is  famous  for  its 
garden  products  and  its  small  fruits.  It  is  also  a 
magnificent  country  for  cattle  and  sheep,  which  find 
pasture  on  the  high  plateaus  and  timbered  hills. 

In  1901  Mr.  A.  L.  Fellows  with  a  party  of  sur- 
veyors explored  the  Gunnison  River  Canon,  and 
he  satisfied  himself  that  a  tunnel  could  be  driven 
through  the  granite  ridge  of  the  Mesa  Verde  and 
thus  abundant  supplies  of  water  could  be  brought 
to  the  valley,  whose  elevation  is  lower  than  the 
river.  As  an  engineering  feat  the  Gunnison  Tunnel 


298  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

is  unique  among  the  irrigation  projects  of  the 
United  States  government.  It  was  begun  in  1905, 
and  nearly  completed  in  the  fall  of  1908.  The 
tunnel  is  about  six  miles  long,  and  it  penetrates 
the  mesa  at  a  depth  of  twenty-one  hundred  feet. 
Through  this  natural  barrier  the  water  of  the 
Gunnison  River  is  diverted  into  the  Uncompahgre 
valley,  reclaiming  one  hundred  thousand  acres. 
The  tract  of  arid  land  thus  irrigated  is  about  nine 
miles  wide  and  thirty  miles  long.  The  exit  of  the 
tunnel  is  eight  miles  from  Montrose.  The  cost 
of  this  irrigation  enterprise  was  over  two  million 
dollars. 

The  valley  of  the  Grand  River  extends  from 
Palisade  westward  to  the  state  line.  It  is  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  long,  and  fifteen  miles 
wide  (or  less  in  places).  While  the  Grand  valley 
has  a  great  reputation  for  its  fruit,  it  is  admirably 
adapted  to  general  farming.  Sugar  beets  are 
raised  extensively  for  the  sugar  factory  at  Grand 
Junction.  The  most  valuable  crops  of  the  section 
are  apples  and  peaches,  which  rank  among  the 
best  in  the  w^orld.  The  valley  was  first  settled  in 
the  fall  of  1881,  after  the  removal  of  the  Utes  to 
Utah.  The  people  are  almost  entirely  Americans, 
from  Missouri,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Dakota,  Ne- 
braska, Kansas,  and  the  Southern  States. 

Delta  and  Paonia  are  the  centers  of  fruit-growing 


AGRICULTURE  IN  COLORADO  299 

sections  as  famous  as  the  Grand  Junction  or  the 
Fruita  districts.  The  country  is  ideal  for  fruit 
growing.  In  appearance  and  flavor  the  apples, 
pears,  peaches,  prunes,  grapes,  and  apricots  equal 
those  of  California. 

Northwestern  Colorado  is  rich  in  natural  re- 
sources, which  have  been  only  partly  developed  for 
lack  of  transportation  facilities.  It  is  thinly 
settled.  Only  a  small  fraction  of  the  arable  area 
is  under  cultivation.  At  present  it  is  chiefly  a 
pastoral  country,  but  ranchers  are  pouring  into 
the  Snake  River  valley  and  other  portions  suited 
for  agriculture.  Here  is  an  empire  that  the  rail- 
road will  open  to  civilization. 

Sugar  beets  are  now  the  banner  crop  of  Colorado, 
outstripping  alfalfa  and  wheat.  Within  a  decade 
the  beet-sugar  industry  has  grown  into  prodigious 
magnitude.  Colorado  leads  all  the  states  of  the 
Union  in  the  production  of  beet  sugar,  making 
enough  sugar  for  its  own  population  and  for  the 
people  of  Kansas  and  Iowa. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CONSTITUTION  AND  CAPITOL 

BY  THE  Treaty  of  Fort  Laramie,  1851,  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  part  of  Colorado  east  of  the 
Rockies  and  north  of  the  Arkansas  River  should 
belong  to  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes.  In  1861 
the  Indian  title  was  extinguished  by  the  Treaty  of 
Fort  Wise.  Two  years  before  this  the  pioneer 
settlers  organized  themselves  into  a  provisional 
government  and  named  the  country  the  Territory 
of  Jefferson,  whose  limits  comprehended  a  larger 
area  than  Colorado  has  to-day.  At  the  same  time 
the  Pike's  Peak  region  was  by  most  of  the  inhab- 
itants outside  of  Denver  considered  a  part  of 
Kansas,  and  it  was  known  as  Arapahoe  County, 
Kansas  Territory. 

The  old  order  of  things  passed  away  February 
28,  1861,  when  the  Territory  of  Colorado  was 
organized  out  of  parts  of  Utah,  New  Mexico, 
Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  with  an  area  of  103,948 
square  miles.  The  name  is  from  the  Spanish, 
meaning  "colored  red."  The  number  of  inhab- 
itants was  estimated  to  be  from  50,000  to  60,000. 
Colorado  had  then,  as  now,  a  large  floating  popu- 

300 


CONSTITUTION  AND  CAPITOL 


301 


THE  STATE  CAPITOL  AT  DENVER 

lation.  The  United  States  marshal  who  took  the 
census  in  the  summer  of  1861  found  only  25,331 
persons.  According  to  the  United  States  census 
of  1870,  there  were  in  that  year  39,864  permanent 
residents  in  the  territory;  so  there  was  no  sub- 
stantial increase  during  the  first  decade  of  its 
history.  It  is  likely  that  some  miners  in  the  moun- 
tains were  missed  in  both  censuses. 

On  March  22,  1861,  President  Lincoln  appointed 
William  Gilpin  of  Missouri  territorial  governor. 
Gilpin  had  traveled  extensively  through  the  Rocky 
Mountain  country,  and  had  great  faith  in  its 
future.  He  had  also  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Mexican  War.  He  was  a  man  of  affairs,  although 


302  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

a  dreamer.  One  of  his  pet  schemes  was  that  of 
building  a  railroad  from  Denver  to  Alaska.  To 
his  credit  it  should  be  said  that  he  was  a  strong 
Union  man,  and  took  an  active  part  in  crushing 
out  the  Rebellion  in  the  Southwest.  In  a  year 
he  was  succeeded  by  John  Evans,  of  Evanston, 
Illinois. 

In  1861  there  were  only  thirteen  counties  in 
Colorado  Territory — Boulder,  Weld,  Larimer, 
Arapahoe,  Douglas,  Pueblo,  Gilpin,  Clear  Creek, 
Summit,  Park,  Lake,  Conejos,  and  Costilla. 

The  first  session  of  the  Legislature  was  held  at 
Denver  in  the  fall  of  1861 ;  it  lasted  fifty-nine  days. 
The  second  session  began  July  7,  1862,  at  Colorado 
City.  The  Assembly  met  there  only  four  days, 
then  adjourned  to  meet  in  Denver  the  following 
week.  The  third  session  was  begun  at  Golden  on 
February  1,  1864;  soon  afterward  the  Legislature 
adjourned  to  Denver.  Although  the  seat  of 
government  remained  at  Denver,  the  Assembly 
convened  at  Golden  for  several  years;  the  last 
meeting  there  was  in  December,  1867,  when  it 
adjourned  to  Denver.  The  eighth  session  was 
held  in  the  City  of  the  Plains.  So  there  were  three 
territorial  capitals  in  the  period  of  seven  years. 
From  that  time  Denver  was  the  permanent  capital 
of  the  territory,  and  later  became  that  of  the 
state. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  CAPITOL  303 

After  repeated  efforts  to  secure  statehood,  Colo- 
rado was  admitted  to  the  Union  August  1,  1876. 
It  acquired  the  nickname  of  the  "Centennial  State," 
because  that  year  was  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  The  first  State  Legislature  met 
November  1,  1876. 

Colorado   was   the   thirty-eighth   state.     At   the 

time  of  its  admission  it  was  divided  into  twentv-six 

«/ 

counties — Arapahoe,  Bent,  Boulder,  Clear  Creek, 
Conejos,  Costilla,  Douglas,  El  Paso,  Elbert,  Fre- 
mont, Gilpin,  Grand,  Huerfano,  Hinsdale,  Jeffer- 
son, Lake,  La  Plata,  Larimer,  Las  Animas,  Park, 
Pueblo,  Rio  Grande,  Saguache,  San  Juan,  Summit, 
and  Weld.  From  time  to  time  other  counties 
were  created;  in  1902  there  were  fifty-nine. 

In  1876  the  principal  towns  were  Denver, 
Golden,  Boulder,  Black  Hawk,  Georgetown,  Breck- 
enridge,  Idaho  Springs,  Greeley,  Colorado  City, 
Colorado  Springs,  Central  City,  Fairplay,  Fort  Col- 
lins, Longmont,  Las  Animas,  Canon  City,  Pueblo, 
anb!  Trinidad.  Other  places  that  have  achieved 
prominence  are  Loveland,  Fort  Morgan,  Brush, 
Sterling,  La  Junta,  Rocky  Ford,  Florence,  Walsen- 
burg,  Buena  Vista,  Alamosa,  Durango,  Silverton, 
Ouray,  Montrose,  Telluride,  Aspen,  Leadville, 
Gunnison,  Salida,  Grand  Junction,  Glenwood 
Springs,  Goldfield,  Victor,  and  Cripple  Creek. 


304 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


The  population  of  Colorado  in  1880  was  194,327; 
in  1890  it  had  increased  to  412,198;  and  in  1900  it 
was  539,700.  It  is  the  most  populous  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  States.  In  1908  the  number  of  in- 
habitants was  estimated  at  700,000. 

By  the  Constitution  of  1876,  which  is  still  in 

force,  the  General 
Assembly  consists  of 
two  legislative  bod- 
ies. There  are  thir- 
ty-five members  of 
the  Senate,  elected 
for  four  years;  one 
half  of  them  retire 
every  two  years. 
There  are  sixty-five 
members  of  the 
House  of  Represent- 
atives, elected  for 
two  years.  All  citi- 
zens of  the  United 
States  who  are  twen- 
ty-five years  of  age 
and  residents  for  one 

year  in  the  district  for  which  they  seek  election  are 
eligible  to  either  House.  The  sessions  are  biennial 
and  last  ninety  days.  Legislators  receive  seven 
dollars  a  day,  besides  mileage,  during  the  session. 


THE  COLUMBINE 

Colorado's  State  Flower 


CONSTITUTION  AND  CAPITOL  305 

The  Legislature  meets  on  the  first  Wednesday  of 
January  after  election. 

State  elections  are  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
October  of  even  years.  A  six-months'  residence 
in  the  state  is  a  prerequisite  to  voting.  In  1893 
the  people  voted  to  extend  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  women.  Women  are  eligible  to  school-district 
offices. 

The  governor  is  elected  for  two  years.  His 
term  of  office  begins  in  January,  on  the  opening 
day  of  the  Legislature.  His  salary  is  five  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  The  other  state  officials  are  elected 
for  two  years. 

The  state  sends  two  Senators  and  three  Repre- 
sentatives to  the  Federal  Congress. 

In  1861  the  first  Assembly  of  Colorado  Territory 
passed  a  resolution  relative  to  a  territorial  seal,  which 
later,  in  becoming  the  state  seal,  was  slightly 
changed.  The  first  General  Assembly  in  1877 
passed  the  following  act : 

Section  1 .  That  the  seal  of  the  State  shall  be  two  and 
one  half  inches  in  diameter,  with  the  following  device  in- 
scribed thereon :  An  heraldic  shield,  bearing  in  chief,  or  upon 
the  upper  portion  of  the  same,  upon  a  red  ground,  three 
snow-capped  mountains;  above,  .surrounding  clouds;  upon 
the  lower  part  thereof,  upon  a  golden  ground,  a  miner's  badge, 
as  prescribed  by  the  rules  of  heraldry ;  as  a  crest  above  the 
shield,  the  eye  of  God,  being  golden  rays  proceeding  from 


306  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

the  lines  of  a  triangle;  below  the  crest  and  above  the  shield, 
as  a  scroll,  the  Roman  fasces,  bearing  upon  a  band  of  red, 
white  and  blue,  the  words,  "Union  and  Constitution";  below 
the  whole,  this  motto:  "  Nil  sine  Numine";  the  whole  to  be 
surrounded  by  the  words  "State  of  Colorado,"  and  the 
figures  "1876." 

The  bundle  of  fasces  suggests  the  sentiment: 
"United,  we  stand;  divided,  we  fall."  The  three 
snow-crowned  mountains  represent  the  principal 
Colorado  ranges.  The  Latin  motto  means,  "Noth- 
ing without  Divinity." 

In  1890  the  children  of  the  commonwealth  took 
part  in  choosing  the  blue  Rocky  Mountain  colum- 
bine (Ayuilegia  coerulea)  for  the  state  flower.  The 
beautiful  conifer  named  blue  spruce,  which  grows 
extensively  in  the  Rockies,  is  the  state  tree.  The 
third  Friday  in  April  is  Arbor  Day.  Flag  Day 
was  first  celebrated  in  Denver  June  14,  1894. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

STATE  AND  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 

IT  is  the  province  of  the  state  to  care  for  the  help- 
less and  unfortunate.  The  state  restrains  the 
vicious  and  confines  the  criminal.  It  also  builds 
and  sustains  schools  and  libraries  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  community. 

Colorado's  State  Home  for  Dependent  and 
Neglected  Children  was  established  by  act  of  the 
Legislature  in  1895.  It  is  situated  in  South 
Denver.  The  headquarters  of  the  State  Bureau  of 
Child  and  Animal  Protection  are  in  Denver. 

The  Institute  for  the  Blind  and  Mute  dates 
back  to  1874.  The  State  Legislature  has  liber- 
ally provided  for  the  school,  which  is  located  at 
Colorado  Springs.  The  Deaf  Mute  Institute  is 
open  to  persons  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty- 
two;  it  is  free  only  to  Coloradoans. 

In  1879  the  State  Legislature  established  the 
Asylum  for  the  Insane.  The  buildings,  in  Pueblo, 
are  commodious  and  comfortable. 

The  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Home,  near  Monte 
Vista,  was  founded  in  1889.  The  site  of  one  hundred 
twenty  acres  was  donated  by  citizens  of  the  town. 

307 


TILE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


MAIN    BUILDING   <)!•    THK  STATE   I'MVERSITY,    BOULDKIl 

The  Industrial  School  for  Boys  was  opened,  at 
Golden,  in  June,  1882.  The  object  is  to  reclaim 
and  educate  lads  who  have  started  on  the  down- 
ward road.  They  are  kept  at  work  and  receive 
instruction  in  manual  training.  The  school  has 
been  highly  successful  in  building  up  the  character 
of  the  inmates  and  in  fitting  them  to  be  useful 
in  life. 

The  State  Industrial  School  for  (iirls  is  a  similar 
institution,  intended  io  reform  uavvvard  girls  and 

i.  "       O 

make    them    self -respecting    members    of    society. 

O  i/ 

It  was  founded  in  1887,  and  is  located  at  Morrison, 


STATE  AM)  Pl'HLIC  INSTITUTIONS 


300 


GUGGENHEIM   HALL,   COLORADO  SCHOOL   OF  MINES 

The  Penitentiary  is  at  Canon  City,  where  it  was 
established  by  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  in 
1868.  In  connection  with  it  is  maintained  the 
State  Reformatory,  at  Buena  Vista,  for  men  and 
boys  convicted  of  their  first  criminal  offenses. 
The  idea  is  to  separate  them  from  hardened  char- 
acters, and  to  give  them  a  chance  to  turn  over  a 
new  leaf. 

Colorado  has  expended  generous  sums  upon  its 
State  University,  which  was  opened  in  1877,  at 
Boulder.  The  public-spirited  citizens  of  the  place 
had  donated  the  site,  and  on  it  stood  a  solitary 


310 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


brick  building,  erected  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand 
dollars.  In  1907  there  were  fourteen  buildings, 
modern  in  their  appointments  and  finely  equipped. 
At  the  start  there  were  forty-four  students  and  two 
instructors.  In  1907-8  the  enrollment  was  nearly 
a  thousand;  the  professors,  lecturers,  and  assist- 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,    GREELEY 

ants  numbered  one  hundred  five.  The  number  of 
degrees  conferred  by  the  university  up  to  that 
year  was  one  thousand  seventeen.  This  institu- 
tion has  played  an  important  part  in  developing 
higher  education  in  the  West.  Its  influence  ex- 
tends far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  commonwealth. 
The  Chautauquas  are  held  here  in  summer. 
In  1874  the  territorv  founded  another  institution 


STATE  AND  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  311 

that  is  justly  famed,  the  School  of  Mines,  at  Golden. 
For  a  score  of  years  it  suffered  for  want  of  funds ; 
later  it  was  aided  by  private  munificence,  and  has 
grown  into  a  strong  school.  It  has  turned  out  stu- 
dents well  grounded  in  the  technical  details  of 
mining,  and  has  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  mineral  industry  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  offers  courses  in  practical 
chemistry,  engineering,  mining,  metallurgy,  and 
geology. 

The  State  Normal  School  was  opened,  at  Gree- 
ley,  in  1890.  About  five  thousand  students  have 
attended  the  institution,  which  up  to  1907  had 
graduated  eleven  hundred  sixty-seven  men  and 
women.  Among  these  were  many  who  had  taken 
college  and  high-school  courses.  By  pursuing  the 
courses  in  pedagogy  they  have  grown  to  larger 
stature  of  manhood  and  womanhood;  they  have 
acquired  skill  in  imparting  knowledge.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  Normal  School  has  been  felt  through- 
out the  state;  it  has  resulted  in  improving  the 
methods  of  instruction,  and  in  adding  dignity  to 
the  teacher's  calling.  The  school  has  a  faculty  of 
thirty  specialists.  The  library  contains  thirty 
thousand  volumes. 

The  State  Agricultural  College  at  Fort  Collins 
ranks  foremost  among  the  schools  intended  to 
place  farming  on  a  scientific  footing.  Here  agri- 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


MCCLELLAND  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  PUEBLO 
culture  and  horticulture  are  thoroughly  studied. 
Experiments  are  made  in  cultivating  plants,  in 
growing  crops,  and  in  raising  stock.  Success  in 
farming  now  depends  as  much  upon  head  work 
as  hand  work.  A  grounding  in  the  principles  of 
botany,  chemistry,  and  other  practical  subjects 
affords  an  invaluable  preparation  for  the  everyday 
labors  of  the  ranch.  The  professors  of  the  Agri- 
cultural College  have  traveled  through  the  state, 
holding  Farmers'  Institutes;  to  these  must  be 
attributed  in  part  the  recent  advance  in  agriculture 
and  horticulture  for  which  Colorado  is  known 
not  only  throughout  this  country  but  all  over  the 
world . 

The  State  Board  of  Horticulture,  organized  in 


STATE  AND  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  313 

1880,  lias  been  active  in  promoting  fruit  culture 
and  forestry. 

The  Public  Library  of  Denver  grew  out  of  the 
Mercantile  Library  conducted  by  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  It  was  steadily  augmented,  and  in 
1893  its  name  was  changed  to  that  of  City  Library. 
In  April,  1907,  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  building 
was  laid.  Of  the  total  cost,  over  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  Andrew  Carnegie  donated  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1908  the  library 
had  a  collection  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
volumes,  besides  several  thousand  pamphlets. 

Pueblo  is  not  wholly  given  over  to  steel  works 
and  smelters.  The  city  has  a  w^ell-appointed 
Public  Library,  named  after  a  generous  citizen, 
Andrew  McClelland.  In  1907  it  contained  twenty- 
five  thousand  books.  The  library  was  built  of 
Colorado  limestone,  at  a  cost  of  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  opened  in  January, 
1904. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

EDUCATION  IN  COLORADO 

IN  THE  caravans  that  crossed  the  plains  in  1859 
and  the  early  sixties  were  numerous  college  gradu- 
ates, and  a  large  proportion  of  them  remained. 
Some  of  them  stayed  in  Denver;  others  penetrated 
the  wilds  of  the  Rockies  in  search  of  gold.  As  time 
passed,  their  booklore  was  partially  forgotten,  but 
the  traditions  of  culture  clung  to  them.  They  prized 
knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  and  wished  the  rising 
generation  to  have  the  advantages  that  they  them- 
selves had  left  behind  in  the  States.  So  the  move- 
ment to  found  schools  of  advanced  education  met 
with  a  ready  response. 

In  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War  were  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  institution  that  is  now  the 
University  of  Denver.  The  echoes  of  the  can- 
nonading around  Atlanta  had  hardly  died  away 
before  Colorado  Seminary  was  opened  at  Denver 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  It  was  "the  pioneer  school  of  higher 
learning  in  this  State."  In  1880  the  University  of 
Denver  was  organized.  In  1907  it  had  a  faculty 
of  forty  professors  and  assistants ;  there  were  twelve 

314 


EDUCATION  IN  COLORADO 


315 


OFFICE  OF  THE  DENVER  POST 

buildings;  all  the  properties  and  endowments 
amounted  to  seven  hundred  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
In  the  quarter-century  between  1882  and  1907  the 
institution  conferred  over  fifteen  hundred  degrees. 


310  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

The  collegiate  departments  and  the  observatory  are 
located  at  University  Park;  the  departments  of 
medicine,  dentistry,  law,  music,  and  the  Saturday 
College  for  teachers  are  in  Denver. 

Conspicuous  among  the  Roman  Catholic  schools 
is  the  Loretto  Academy,  which  dates  back  to  18(>4. 
The  Jesuit  College  was  opened  in  1887. 

Wolfe  Hall,  in  Denver,  was  established  by  the 
Episcopalians.  It  is  a  boarding  school  for  girls. 
Colorado  College,  at  Colorado  Springs,  was 
established  by  the  Congregationalists  in  1874. 
The  Colorado  Woman's  College,  at  Montclair, 
was  built  by  the  Baptists  in  1891-2.  Westmin- 
ster University,  founded  by  the  Presbyterians  in 
the  early  nineties,  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1907. 
The  panic  of  1893,  due  to  the  demonetization  of 
silver,  arrested  the  progress  of  the  enterprise,  as 
was  the  case  at  Montclair.  Westminster  is  situ- 
ated near  Denver,  and  is  called  the  " Princeton  of 
the  West." 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is,  in 
a  sense,  an  educational  institution;  its  members 
have  the  privileges  of  entering  classes  and  attend- 
ing lectures.  The  new  building  in  Denver  was 
finished  in  the  fall  of  1907;  its  cost  was  three  hun- 
dred sixty  thousand  dollars. 

The  national  government  supports  an  Indian 
school  at  Grand  Junction. 


EDUCATION  IX  COLORADO 


317 


In  1859  the  first  school  kept  in  the  territory 
\vas  opened  in  "a  small  log  cabin  covered  with 
poles,  brush,  and  dirt."  The  organized  public 
school  system  of  Colorado  had  its  beginning  in 
1861.  Before  this  Denver  had  three  private 
schools.  Boulder  had  a  public  school  in  1860. 


THE  Y.   M.  C.   A.  BUILDING,   DENVER 

During  the  first  decade  of  the  territory's  his- 
tory educational  work  advanced  slowly.  The 
population  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  men 
without  families.  There  were  few  children  to 
attend  school  in  the  mining  towns  or  in  the  settle- 
ments on  the  Divide  and  in  the  Arkansas  valley. 

Of  Colorado's  forty  thousand  people  in  1870  less 
than  seven  thousand  were  of  school  age,  and  only 


318  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

half  of  these  were  in  the  public  schools.  Nearly 
five  hundred  boys  and  girls  attended  private 
schools.  There  were  one  hundred  ten  pub- 
lic schools  in  the  territory  that  year.  At  that 
time  Denver,  Central  City,  Black  Hawk,  and 
several  other  towns  had  graded  schools.  There 
was  not  as  yet  a  high  school  in  the  territory, 
although  some  of  the  high-school  branches  were 
taught  in  Denver,  Canon  City,  and  other  towns. 

Central  City  boasted  of  a  two-story  stone  school 
building,  with  cherry  and  iron  furniture,  but  it  was 
an  exception  in  1870.  Denver  had  then  only  one 
schoolhouse;  the  other  two  schools  were  held  in 
rented  quarters  that  were  more  or  less  unsuitable 
for  the  purpose.  More  than  a  score  of  the  school- 
houses  in  the  territory  were  log  structures;  others 
were  frame  buildings  or  adobe.  The  exterior  was 
unsightly,  and  the  interior  uninviting.  They  were 
poorly  furnished  and  uncomfortable.  They  were 
usually  supplied  with  pine  benches,  a  stove,  a 
broom,  and  a  water  pail.  Occasionally  a  small, 
almost  useless,  blackboard  could  be  seen ;  rarer  yet 
were  such  helps  as  charts,  maps,  and  dictionaries. 
There  was  no  uniformity  of  text-books.  The  pu- 
pils brought  the  books  they  had  used  in  the  East 
— Sanders's  spellers,  McGuffey's  readers,  Mitchell's 
geographies,  and  Ray's  or  Robinson's  arithmetics. 

In  the  pioneer  days  and  later  men  teachers  were 


JEDUCATION  IN  COLORADO  319 

irT*'  the  -  majority.  Examinations  were  generally 
oral  and  by  no  means  easy.  "I  don't  see  but  you 
ask  as  hard  questions  as  they  do  in  the  States," 
remarked  one  applicant  for  a  certificate.  As  a 
rule  the  instructors  were  capable  and  conscientious ; 
almost  without  exception  they  realized  the  nobility 
and  responsibility  of  their  position.  But  they 
were  seldom  engaged  for  a  longer  term  than  three 
or  four  months.  Educational  interests  suffered 
more  or  less  until  Colorado  had  trained  teachers 
and  a  normal  school. 

Schools  were  kept  open  from  four  to  nine 
months  in  a  year.  Here  and  there  a  schoolmaster 
boarded  around,  but  this  was  out  of  the  question 
in  some  of  the  sparsely  settled  country  districts, 
where  a  permanent  boarding  place  was  necessary. 
If  a  teacher  was  a  married  man,  he  sometimes  put 
up  a  tent  near  the  schoolhouse  and  lived  there. 
Instructors  received  from  thirty  to  one  hundred 
seventy-five  dollars  a  month.  In  the  early  days  of 
placer  mining  those  in  the  mountain  towns  were 
paid  in  gold  dust,  which  was  the  money  of  the 
country. 

The  frontier  period  lasted  well  into  the  seven- 
ties, and  in  certain  sections  for  a  long  time  after 
Colorado  had  been  admitted  as  a  state.  Although 
a  grant  of  three  million  acres  was  made  for  the 
support  of  public  schools,  these  were  by  no  means 


320 


THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 


A  COLORADO   PANTHER 

common  on  the  plains.  The  story  is  told  of  an 
isolated  rancher  who  was  the  only  resident  in  the 
district.  He  elected  himself  director  and  engaged 
his  eldest  daughter  to  teach  the  younger  children 
of  the  family. 

The  district  was  not  invariably  two  miles  square. 
The  boundary  on  one  side  might  be  a  mile  from 
the  schoolhouse;  on  the  other  side  it  might  extend 
indefinitely.  The  children  rode  horses  or  burros 
four  or  five  miles  to  school.  These  animals  were 
staked  out  to  feed  on  the  open  prairie;  when  one 
broke  loose,  his  owner  had  a  long  tramp  home 
that  evening. 


EDUCATION  IN  COLORADO  321 

Now  and  then  a  blizzard  made  a  memorable 
episode  in  the  history  of  some  school  in  north- 
eastern Colorado.  The  forenoon  might  be  calm 
and  bright;  in  the  afternoon  clouds  would  swiftly 
gather.  Suddenly,  almost  without  warning,  the 
storm  struck  the  schoolhouse  like  a  sledge  hammer. 
School  was  abruptly  dismissed;  teacher  and  pupils 
made  their  way  home  as  quickly  as  possible  through 
the  blinding  snow,  keeping  together  lest  they  be 
lost.  A  period  of  bitter  cold  followed,  and  maybe 
there  was  no  school  again  for  a  week. 

Sometimes  the  monotony  of  school  would  be 
broken  by  the  sight  of  a  band  of  Indians  straggling 
past  in  single  file,  braves,  squaws  and  pappooses 
riding  ponies  on  a  slow  walk.  These  nomads 
wandered  through  Colorado  pretty  much  as  they 
pleased  until  1880. 

In  the  schools  of  the  mountain  regions  attend- 
ance was  irregular  in  the  winter  season,  for  the 
roads  and  trails  were  frequently  blocked  by  deep 
snow.  Pupils  walking  a  distance  were  often 
tardy.  Sometimes  they  encountered  wild  animals. 
It  is  related  that  a  boy  of  thirteen  years  on  the  way 
to  school  one  morning  came  face  to  face  with  a 
large  cougar  that  took  refuge  in  a  tree.  Perched 
on  a  limb  a  dozen  feet  from  the  ground,  the  creature 
growled  and  glared  at  him.  Without  any  other 
weapon  than  a  big  jack  knife,  the  boy  approached, 


322  THE  MAKING  OF  COLORADO 

not  realizing  his  danger.  The  knife  with  open 
blade  was  tied  fast  to  a  pole,  and  he  jabbed  it  into 
the  side  of  the  snarling  brute,  which  sprang  to  the 
ground.  The  plucky  lad  then  despatched  the 
mountain  lion  with  a  few  blows  over  its  head. 

"Why  are  you  so  late,  Johnny?"  the  teacher 
asked  of  a  pupil  who  appeared  at  school  long  after 
ten  o'clock. 

"Oh,  teacher,"  the  boy  breathlessly  exclaimed, 
"a  bear  treed  me.  It  just  passed  by  the  school- 
house  and  went  up  the  trail." 

Glancing  out  of  the  window,  the  schoolma'am 
saw  Bruin  ambling  up  the  slope,  and  Johnny's 
tardiness  was  excused. 

Since  1870  Colorado  has  made  satisfactory 
progress  in  education.  In  that  year  colonies  were 
founded  at  Greeley  and  in  the  Wet  Mountain  val- 
ley. The  next  year  another  colony  was  located 
at  Longmont.  These  settlers  and  a  host  of  others 
brought  their  families,  and  more  schools  were 
necessary.  The  twenty-one  counties  of  1870  had 
68  schoolhouses  and  132  teachers.  The  fifty-nine 
counties  of  1906  had  2,010  schoolhouses,  and  the 
total  enrollment  of  pupils  was  144,007;  there  were 
91  high  schools,  with  an  attendance  of  10,392. 
The  teachers  numbered  4,600,  of  whom  2,722  were 
in  graded  schools. 


GOVERNORS   OF    COLORADO 

TERRITORIAL 

1  WILLIAM  GILPIN     ............  •  1861-1862 

2  JOHN  EVANS     ......  .1862-1865 

3  ALEXANDER  CUMMINGS  ....  •  1865-1867 

4  A.  CAMERON  HUNT     .    .  •  1867-1869 

5  EDWARD  McCooK   .    - 

(5    SAMUEL  H.  ELBERT  .  -  1873-1874 

7  EDWARD  McCooK   ..... 

8  JOHN  L.  ROUTT  .  1875-1876 

STATE 

1  JOHN  L.  ROUTT  .  •  1876-1870 

2  FREDERICK  W.  PITKIN  .  1879-1SS- 
.3  JAMES  B.  GRANT     .    . 

4  BENJAMIN  H.  EATON     ......  •  1885-1887 

5  ALVA  ADAMS   ........  •  1887-1889 

0  JOB  A.  COOPER  .........  •  ISS9-1S91 

7  JOHN  L.  ROIITT  .......  1S91-1893 


S   DAVID  A.  WAITE    ..... 

9   ALBERT  W.  MC!NTYRE  ......  1895-1897 

10  AI.VA  ADAMS    ......  •  1897'1899 

11  CHARLES  S.  THOMAS  ...... 

12  JAMES  B.  ORMAN   .    ........  •  1901-1903 

13  JAMES  H.  PEABODY    .    -  •  1903-1905 

14  ALVA  ADAMS  (sixty-six  days)  . 

15  JAMES  H.  PEABODY  (one  day) 

16  JESSE  F.  MCDONALD 

17  HENRY  A.  BUCHTEL  .......    •    • 

323 


NOTABLE  COLORADO  DATES 

1806  Pike's  expedition  1o  (he  Rocky  Mountains. 

1820  Long's  expedition. 

1842  Fremont's  first  expedition. 

1853  Gunnison's  expedition. 

1858  Discovery  of  gold  and  founding  of  Denver. 

1860  Discovery  of  silver 

1861  Colorado    Territory  organized,    with    thirteen  counties  and   a 

population  of  25,331;   capital  at  Colorado  City. 

1862  Capital  changed  to  Golden. 

1864  A  majority  of  Colorado  voters  oppose  statehood 

1867  Capital  changed  to  Denver. 

1868  Smelter  opened  at  Black  Hawk. 
1870  Two  railroads  built  to  Denver. 
1874  Discovery  of  cliff  dwellings. 
1876  Colorado  admitted  as  a  state. 

1881     Grand  River  valley  opened  for  settlement. 

1890  Gold  discovered  at  Cripple  Creek. 

1891  Pike's  Peak  railroad  opened. 

1902     Arapahoe  County  divided  into  Adams,  Arapahoe,  and  Denver 
counties. 

1904  Gunnison  Tunnel  begun. 

1905  Adams  inaugurated  January  10;    election  contest  follows,  and 

on  March  16  the  Legislature  declares  Peabody  elected;  the 
next  day  he  resigns,  and  is  succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor McDonald. 

1906  Pike  centennial  celebration. 

1 907  Cripple  Creek  Drainage  Canal  begun. 

324 


